Misty's Story
by SilverScyther
Summary: When Ash and Misty separated Misty was forced to take on the role of the Cerulean Gym Leader. It's been a few years since her journey ended and she's ready to go out into the world again. When she meets up with Ash and is given the opportunity she jumps on it setting out to improve herself, catch new Pokemon, and take on the Indigo League with Ash. Eventual Pokshipping.
1. Chapter 1: Another Day at The Gym

**Hello Readers: **This is my first fan fiction and it will start centered around Misty after she leaves Ash and returns to the Cerulean Gym. This is going to be set a few years after they left each other. I haven't changed the past at all, but this story is starting at the end of Ash's adventures in Sinnoh. There will be PokeShipping in later chapters, but in the beginning it will follow Misty exclusively. Ash's point of view will eventually pop up from time to time once they are reunited. Anyway the story will explain itself eventually so I hope you enjoy it.

Clearly I don't own Pokemon in any way shape or form, otherwise Misty would still be in the show.

**Chapter 1: Another Day in the Gym**

Misty woke up with a groan, hating the sun for waking her up. Trying to ignore her body crying for more sleep she forced herself to get up and prepare for another day of work in her gym. Using all her determination she managed to drag her head away from her very comfortable pillow and pull herself out of bed. As much as she wanted to laze around she knew she had a gym to run and with that thought she shook off the thought of slipping back into oblivion.

It had certainly taken time, but with her return the Cerulean gym began to rise in prestige going from joke with her sisters in charge to a respectable gym. She was under no delusion that within a few years she suddenly became the strongest gym in Kanto, but she believed she was on the upper end of the mid level gyms and she was proud.

Misty put on a swimsuit and pulled on a sweatshirt and a pair of shorts over it to cover herself. After stopping in the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast she made her way down to the Pokemons' pool to go for her usual morning swim. She slid into the water quickly growing used to the temperature and pushed off the wall into the deep water. She had been swimming in the salt water long enough to get used to it and there was almost no discomfort in opening her eyes. Several of her Pokemon swam over to her happy to see her. The smaller one's circled her playfully and even Gyrados was happy to see her in his own wild way, sending waves crashing as he approached.

"Like, Misty you have a challenger," her sister Daisy yelled to her as she surfaced to breath. Although Misty admittedly would have preferred more time to herself, she was well aware of her responsibilities.

"Alright, I'm coming," Misty swam back to the edge and pulled herself out of the water shivering as her wet body made contact with the cool air. Although her relationship with her sisters improved greatly they still weren't very good at battling. At the very least they weren't on the level of someone who could represent the Cerulean gym. They had all become better since a few years ago and they didn't literally hand badges over when she let them battle, but anyone with more than one badge and a decent amount of training immediately became her issue.

She loved being a gym leader, but most of the work fell on her and it was draining at times. The paperwork and the battling became her responsibility while her 'sensational sisters' put on shows and went to photo shoots. She was slightly pleased to note that they thought she was starting to look 'sensational' and in another year when she turned sixteen she could join them. However, she couldn't imagine being a 'sensational sister' full time. She didn't have any plans to become a model, but she felt a little proud that they no longer thought of her as the runt.

Knowing she had a battle ahead of her she called a few of her more oft use Pokemon into their balls and headed to the pool which served as the arena. She grabbed her clothing without bothering to put them over her still wet swimsuit. The challenger was on the far end of the room studying the layout. She walked to greet him, "Hi, I'm Misty the leader of this Gym." Although most people who came to the gym were aware of who she was, it was still polite to introduce herself.

"I'm Greg I'm here to challenge you," he held his hand out to shake, but was blushing and looked slightly uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" She asked and realized he was staring at her. Looking down she saw the problem, she was still in her swimsuit and apparently he noticed. Over the years she had grown into the swimsuits she wore and was filling them out better. She quickly pulled her sweatshirt back on covering herself trying to chase away her own blush. "So do you want to battle or what?" She asked her temper starting to rise. It wasn't that she was worried about her body or was afraid of wearing her swimsuit, but she didn't like when people were distracted from battling because of her clothing. That was the curse of spending most of her time in water and battling in an arena where getting splashed was a very likely to happen at some point.

"Y-yeah," his blush was replaced with a bit of fear at the anger she was displaying.

She forced herself to calm down not wanting to terrify the poor kid,"How about a three on three? First person to have all their Pokemon faint loses?" Although it was her gym she always had to ask because there were trainers who wanted a full six on six battle which she rarely indulged, but there were also trainers who only brought one or two Pokemon.

"Alright," a bit of fire came into his eyes showing that he was serious, which Misty appreciated.

"So how long have you been training for?" Misty asked before she went to her end of the pool.

"This is going to be my fourth gym battle. I've been on my journey for a while to become a Pokemon master," he said with an amount of seriousness that impressed Misty. It reminded her of Ash, who was off on his own journey. She almost never saw him in person and his phone calls were rather sparse as well, but it wasn't the time for reminiscing it was the time to battle.

They walked to opposite sides of the pool and platforms rose in the pool for Pokemon to stand on assuming they couldn't swim. "Go Jolteon," Greg called out throwing his Pokeball.

"Alright I call Corsola," Misty threw her own Pokeball letting Corsola land on the nearest platform.

"Corsola," it cheered happily staring at it's opponent.

"Quick attack," Greg called right of the bat and Jolteon leapt towards the platform faster than Corsola was going to be able to dodge.

"Corsola, use iron defense," Misty watched in satisfaction as Jolteon was knocked back by Corsola's hardened body, damaging it a bit. Jolteon moved back onto another platform awaiting his trainer's direction.

"Alright Jolteon use thunder," Greg seemed wary of using another physical attack, with good reason.

"Mirror coat, send it back at him," A shield of energy appeared around Corsola and soaked up the attack before flinging it back at Jolteon.

"Jump over it," Jolteon used it's speed to evade the returned attack.

"Corsola use spike cannon, while Jolteon is in the air," Corsola launched spikes from her body directly at Jolteon who couldn't dodge in the air.

"Jolteon use pinmissile,"Jolteon shot a similar attack at Corsola who couldn't dodge while attacking. The attacks collided dispersing some of each attack, but both Pokemon took a bit of damage, Jolteon more so that Corsola due to Corsola's high defense.

"Corsola tackle," Misty called watching Corsola jumping towards Jolteon, but she didn't expect the attack to actually hit.

"Jolteon use agility to dodge it," Greg yelled and Jolteon jumped out of Corsola's path easily dodging it.

"Corsola water gun," Misty watched as Jolteon moved out of the way avoiding the spray of water.

"Jolteon keep it up with agility," Jolteon moved around the arena dodging attacks without much difficulty.

"Alright then Corsola, move to the center platform and use bubblebeam in a circle. Corsola did as asked and bubbles spread out in all directions from the center of the arena.

"Jump over it, Jolteon," the only places to go were the air or the water and lacking the swimming skills of a water type obviously Jolteon had to go up. Which Misty had been planning on.

"Perfect while he's in the air use water gun," Misty commanded

Only moments after spoke Greg yelled, "pinmissile again, Jolteon," but it was just seconds too late. Jolteon was hit by the water gun and thrown off balance.

"Tackle before he can recover Corsola," Corsola complied ramming into Jolteon and sending him into the water and knocking him out.

"Jolteon, return. Good job buddy." Greg switched Pokeballs "OK it's your turn Ivysaur." Once again he had the type advantage, doubly so because Corsola was a dual water/rock type.

"Ivysaur, razor leaf," Greg wasted no time attacking.

"Corsola dive into the water," Corsola moved into the water just in time to allow the attack to harmlessly fly above her. Ivysaur and Greg both looked around to find where Corsola was hidden in the water to no avail.

"Come up and use bubblebeam again," Misty commanded and Corsola popped out of the water and bubbles smashed into Ivysaur.

"Quick use vine whip and throw Corsola away,"Greg yelled and faster than Misty expected Ivysaur's vines grabbed onto Corsola and launched her into the air.

"Now use Razor leaf," Greg tried to capitalize on Corsola's position.

"Mirror coat," Misty countered knowing any strong grass attack would be extremely dangerous to Corsola, thankfully the attack was repulsed by Corsola's mirror coat.

"Alright now charge up for solar beam," Ivysaur hunkered down and took in energy, the glass ceiling allowing sunlight to stream in.

"Spike cannon while Ivysaur is charging, follow up with bubblebeam," Misty hoped to do damage before Ivysaur had enough time to charge up. Unfortunately Ivysaur fired the attack off sooner than Misty had expected and she barely had time to tell Corsola to use mirrorcoat again. Due to Corsola's fatigue the mirrorcoat broke after blocking some of the energy knocking Corsola back to land unmoving on another platform.

"Perfect Ivysaur," Greg cheered as Misty's first Pokemon was declared unable to battle.

"Return Corsola," Misty returned Corsola to her Pokeball and quietly thanked her for a good battle.

"Not bad, but here's Starmie," Misty released Starmie onto the field. Starmie gave a light 'haah' as it came out.

"Starmie use psychic and then hydro pump," Misty called and watched as Ivysaur floated into the air and then was struck hard with a blast of water.

"Ivysaur get up and use razor leaf," Ivysaur struggled up.

"Saur," it said resolutely, Misty was privately impressed with it's resilience.

"Starmie block it with water gun and finish it off with swift." The leaves were blocked by the spout of water and Ivysaur was finally put down by swift when it struck.

"Alright Pidgeotto, go," Misty was hit by a wave of nostalgia when a Pidgeotto flew into the air. She was going to make sure things turned out differently from when she fought Ash. They were both much less experienced and Starmie was weaker, now she was going to finish this battle with a win.

"Use gust," Greg cried out and Misty watched as Pidgeotto started flapping it's wings.

"Rapid spin, cut right through the wind," Misty replied not allowing Starmie to get pushed by the wind being whipped up. "Perfect, Starmie use water gun to knock it back down," Starmie followed the command and started shooting blasts of water at the Pidgeotto who managed to dodge them all.

"Use whirlwind," this time Starmie was knocked back not having enough time to properly dodge or block the attack.

"Starmie go back underwater," Starmie went into the water disappearing from sight.

"When it comes back up use wing attack," Pidgeotto waited in the air its sharp eyes watching the water.

"Starmie jump up and use rapid spin again," Misty yelled and Starmie suddenly shot out of the water smashing into Pidgeotto's wing sending them both backwards.

"Starmie quick use thunderbolt," Misty called and Starmie continued its spinning before unleashed the attack straight into Pidgeotto who had gone in for a second wing attack. Pidgeotto fell out of the sky landing in the water unconscious.

"Alright we did it, Starmie," Misty cheered before returning it to its Pokeball.

"Good job Pidgeotto, you did your best," Greg said sighing slightly as the red light consumed Pidgeotto returning it to its ball.

Both Misty and Greg stepped away from their respective positions outside the pool. Misty walked over to the younger trainer, "You did a good job."

"I didn't even get past your second Pokemon," he said sounding depressed at his defeat, the expression on his face only confirmed he was upset at the loss.

Misty hated to get let people get discouraged so she told the truth, "You put up a good challenge, trust me compared to a lot of the trainers I face you're really talented. Besides I'm a gym leader I'm supposed to be tough and trust me if you were fighting one of my sisters you definitely would have beaten them." Misty laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, "You should be proud of yourself and your Pokemon."

"Can I fight one of your sisters next time?" He asked brightening up considerably and they both laughed.

"Train a bit more and come back I'd love to face you again," Misty smiled always happy to meet talented younger trainers.

"Alright thank you, Misty,"he returned her smile.

"Now go to the Pokemon center, your Pokemon need the rest,"Misty have him a slight push in the direction of the door.

"Wow Misty, you're like so good," Lily ran up to her, "You haven't lost in like forever."

"I lost last week remember, that girl with Dragonair the beat Politoad," Misty replied not allowing herself to act haughty. Still she was on something of a streak she rarely lost, but some of the more experienced trainers beat her. She was resolved to continue improving, but she was growing tired of her life as a gym leader. She was fifteen she wanted to enjoy life with a bit more freedom, she didn't consider that a crazy thought.

The day continued with her getting challenges from a couple more trainers most of which were rookies who shouldn't have been challenging gyms at all, yet. The one time she allowed one of her sisters to battle was when she was busy with paperwork. Within a few minutes Violet came running in apologizing for losing.

"Seriously, Violet I leave you alone for five minutes and you already gave away a badge. I'm happy to give badges to deserving trainers, but it reflects badly on us if everyone who walks in walks out with a badge in hand," Misty reigned her temped barely. She couldn't believe that her older sisters couldn't handle things on their own for once. Misty felt bad for getting upset with them, but they were supposed to be her older sisters and having to handle everything was weighing down on her.

"Well, like the only Pokemon that are really good at fighting are yours and they don't listen to me all the time. Remember when I tried to use Gyrados it just flipped out and starting thrashing around," Violet shivered remembering how Gyrados wrecked the place and made her start crying. Misty found herself smiling slightly at the memory, it wasn't funny at the time, but looking back she got just a hint of sadistic pleasure from it.

"If I remember correctly you actually won that time because Gyrados is strong enough to win fights even when its doing whatever it wants," Misty pointed out. She continued in a slightly more stern tone, "Seriously though you really need to train with the Pokemon. Even if my Pokemon did follow you, you don't know what you're doing. Daisy can use Dewgong to fight, but other than that you guys are pretty lame for gym leaders."

"Well, whatever," was Violet's retort. She left the office and Misty followed her out after stretching her sore body and putting down her pen. She stopped taking challengers and spent the rest of the night finishing all of the paperwork for the month, leaving her free of paperwork for at least a little while. Misty closed down the gym completely and stepped into the kitchen to get dinner, her sisters were all there eating salads and she was struck with an idea. "Daisy, Lily, Violet, I'm going away for a little while," she announced watching for their reactions.

They looked more than a little surprised, Lily almost choked. Since she returned from her time with Ash she had thrown herself into her work and never seriously mentioned leaving again unless it was for work. "What?" Daisy asked staring at her the confusion was written on her face and obvious in her words.

"Violet and I talked earlier and it made me realize something, you guys are pretty bad at battling, but you also don't have any good Pokemon to use. Most of the Pokemon who can battle belong to me and don't like to listen to you, the Pokemon you train are mainly used in your shows. I want to go out and stretch my legs a little bit and while I'm out I'll catch some Pokemon for you to use," Misty told them the basics of her plan, leaving out finer details because even she hadn't figured them out.

"But, Misty we can't run things alone," Lily told her looking anxious at the prospect of work.

"I finished all the paperwork for the month, I paid the bills, and I just had the tanks and filters cleaned," Misty went through the list of things she had already completed. "I did almost everything ahead of time and I've won more than enough matches to meet the standards for the league," Misty continued.

"Girls we can handle the gym on our own for a little while, let Misty go," Daisy stepped up to her defense. Misty felt a rush of gratefulness for her older sister. In reality her sisters really couldn't have stopped her, but if they made her feel guilty enough she might have stayed.

"I"ll leave you guys Starmie, Politoad, Seadra, Caserin, and my Seaking. Plus Azumarill, but don't let him fight. I'm going to take Gyrados who you can't use anyway, Psyduck who isn't useful to you, Corsola, and Staryu. If I catch any Pokemon I think you guys can use I'll send them to you as well. You can close the gym for a few days and train with my Pokemon. I'll talk to them before I leave," Misty laid out what she thought was a solid plan, even if it was a bit haphazard. Her sisters could use the experience and she needed to spread her wings a little bit. Her sisters left all the time to take trips and do shows for long periods of time, which was part of the reason she had to return anyway.

She went back to the tanks and called the Pokemon she wouldn't be taking with her out, "Hey guys I'm going to be gone for a little while and I need you to help my sisters if they fight. Please listen to them, but if they make any stupid decisions follow your own instincts. I've trained you enough so that you know what to do and what not to do," Misty spoke to them fondly laughing a bit at the thought of her sisters' tactics. She wished them all goodbye and promised to stop by in the morning before she left.

She headed off to get to sleep early, when she fell asleep it was with a smile on her face, hoping for an adventure to come to her.

* * *

**I plan on having a little trivia section for things that people may not know that relate to the story and explain certain things so it explains why I'm taking certain liberties or mentioning things. These will be from the games, the anime, the manga, and various franchise sources. I hope this will be helpful, especially people who didn't watch early episodes. I'm sure some things will be obvious, but I'm still including them. **

\- Misty's sisters tried to give Ash a Cascade badge without battling because they ran out of Pokemon after losing to the three other Pallet town beginning trainers, (Gary and two unnamed trainers who didn't collect eight badges as far as we know.)

-Instead Ash faced Misty, his Butterfree lost to her Staryu, but the battle was interrupted by Team Rocket before the fight between his Pidgeotto and her Starmie could be finished. He was given the badge by Misty's sisters anyway for stopping Team Rocket. Misty's sisters also decided that if Pikachu had battled, Ash would have won so he deserved it anyway.

-Pikachu refused to fight against Misty because they were friends.

-In the games Starmie can learn thunderbolt by TM and in the anime Rudy (A gym leader in the Orange islands) used a Starmie which used thunderbolt on Ash's Squirtle.

-In the anime Misty is said to be 10, but in the manga "Electric Tales of Pikachu" it was said that she was twelve. So I decided to meet in the middle saying she was eleven when she and Ash started traveling together.

* * *

**Author's Note**

Thank you for reading and please leave a review, this is my first fanfiction and I want to know what I'm doing right and what's wrong. I'm not sure the speed I'll be updating, but I do plan on posting a second chapter one day after I post this. After that I'm not sure how quickly I'll post if people enjoy this I'll try to be as fast as possible.


	2. Chapter 2: Setting out

**Chapter 2: Setting Out**

Misty woke up excited, knowing she wouldn't have to spend the day stuck in the gym facing challengers for the first time in months without it being for work. She would able to actually be back in the open and spend more time getting closer to her original dream of being a Water Pokemon master. Although she knew she couldn't travel too far because she wanted to be able to get back to the gym in case her sisters screwed something up. After saying a quick goodbye to her sisters and the Pokemon she wasn't taking with her she stepped out into the city. The sunlight warmed her skin and promised her a good day. She stretched her arms into the air and started walking to her first stop, the Poke Mart.

After stocking up on supplies she jumped onto the first bus to Vermilion city, she wanted to get to the water and surf to the Seafoam islands as soon as possible to make the most of her trip. The bus ride wasn't long, but she felt herself drift off more than once only to be brought to reality by a particular bump. When she arrived she was surprised to see a crowd gathered she walked over and asked the first man she saw what was going on.

"They're about to have a Pokemon competition, it's just a local town thing, but it's free to watch so people coming to see their friends," he explained.

"Can anyone register?" Misty asked her competitive side and curiosity already pushing her to go.

"Yeah you can register at the front desk, I think they still have open spaces," the man pointed towards the Nurse Joy, apparently in charge. Misty made her way through the crowd following the man's directions, easily sliding between people.

"Hi, I'd like to sign up," Misty said to the Nurse Joy who was sitting at the front desk looking down at her computer screen.

"OK, you're lucky you made it just in time. Now you need to have a trainer id, do you have one?" Nurse Joy asked pulling out the signup sheets.

"I'm actually Misty Waterflower, the Cerulean city Gym Leader," Misty explained. The Nurse Joy looked up and her eyes widened slightly in recognition.

"Oh, yes you are, all I need is your Gym id, that's good enough for you to get entrance," Nurse Joy said tapping at a few more keys on her computer.

Misty pulled out her wallet and inside was her gym leader id, "Here you go."

"Perfect," Nurse Joy scanned the card and returned it to Misty. "I have you registered. The first matches will start soon if you need to get any Pokemon you can call from over there," Nurse Joy pointed to the computers on the far side of the room. After a short call to the gym she had Daisy send her Politoad and Starmie for the competition. Daisy swore they were training with the Pokemon and Misty believed her to an extent.

Finally the preliminaries came around and Misty realized this really was a small event. She breezed through her fights not because she was a good trainer, but because it really was a local affair the trainers were all beginners. The teams were made up of unevolved and under trained Pokemon, bug Pokemon that made her skin crawl were quite popular. She felt bad when she beat some of the competitors, realizing she probably didn't belong in the competition.

It wasn't until the finals that she came upon an experienced trainer. It was a girl who was probably her age and just from the confidence she exuded when she walked Misty could tell she knew what she was doing or she was extremely arrogant, possibly both. "I'm Samantha and you're going down, "was her only introduction which immediately put Misty off.

"OK, I'm taking you down," Misty shot back ignoring any introduction, her anger bubbling to the surface quickly. She was not a fan of the girl smirking at her and tried to calm herself, not wanting her anger to get in the way of her battling. She had gotten much better at staying calm, but sometimes she still lost her cool.

To Misty's surprise Samantha was really good. Misty was confident in herself, but admitted that her opponent had a decent chance at beating her. The six vs six battle was intense and they were down to two each.

"OK time for my secret weapon, go Gyrados," Misty called out, but to her surprise Psyduck appeared. She rarely called him out, because although his psychic powers were great it could hard to harness them in battle. "No, Psyduck."

"Go Graveller," Samantha smirked at the small Psyduck across the field. "I'll give you a free shot," Samantha called laughing. Misty was forced to take a risk, but she hoped it would work.

"Fine, Psyduck go head butt that thing," Misty called out pointing at the Graveller. Psyduck looked terrified and still somewhat confused, but it still waddled over and smashed his head directly into the rock Pokemon.

Samantha and the crowd stared at Misty in shock, she had proved to be a capable trainer and at her decision to send her Pokemon to head butt a Graveller seemed insane. "Just wait," Misty said under her breath and she saw the change in Psyduck, his eyes glowing blue.

"Psyduck, use confusion," Misty yelled and Psyduck complied sending Graveller skidding across the field only coming to a stop when it hit a wall.

"What?" Once again Samantha looked shocked. "Graveller use rollout taking that little duck, out," she called out sounding mildly worried.

"Use psychic," Misty countered and once again Psyduck used his powers. This time Graveller stopped mid-roll and was lifted high into the air. Graveller was flung into the wall hard and barely managed to get back up.

"Use rock throw, keep your distance," Samantha commanded.

"Psyduck use psychic again and send the rocks back," Misty once again had Psyduck counter the other Pokemon. The rocks being flung at Psyduck froze in the air and struck Graveller finally knocking it out.

"Oh no, Graveller, alright Venemoth finish this for me," Samantha sent out her final Pokemon

"Psyduck return," Misty saw the blue light fading from his eyes and didn't expect to have the same trick work twice on a row. "This time Gyrados come out for real," Misty threw out her pokeball and sent out her chosen Pokemon. She had faith in Gyrados, it was the powerhouse of her team and by far her strongest fighter in terms of pure power. This was shown because all it took was one smash of his tail and a hydro pump to win the competition for her.

Misty knew she had gotten lucky with Psyduck if he didn't hit his head, he would have been taken out quickly, but she still believed Gyrados would have beaten Graveller and Venemoth. She walked across the field to shake Samantha's hand proud of her win and proud of her Pokémon for doing so well.

"Good job," Misty stuck her hand out for Samantha to shake, taking the high road.

"Thanks you too," Samantha came off her high horse, "but I have a question."

"Ok, what?" Misty asked hoping it would be something innocent.

"Are you Misty the gym leader of Cerulean city?" the girl was looking her up and down.

"Yes, I am," Misty smiled, but she was slightly surprised that she had been recognized.

"How many talented redheaded water trainers are running around Kanto?" Samantha explained Misty's unasked question about how she had been recognized.

"That's true," Misty conceded not imagining she had too many lookalikes, her hair wasn't particularly common nor were water specialists.

"I was actually on my way to challenge you when I stopped her, but I think I'll train for a bit longer. Plus I won't bring my Graveller because I know what your gym looks like and it's probably not the right place for it," Samantha patted the Pokeball holding her Graveller.

"The gym is going to be closed for a little while anyway so don't worry," Misty replied not actually explaining her reason.

"Next time we meet it'll be in the gym and I'll beat you for sure," Samantha switched back into her confident mode, but it held a bit less arrogance.

"I'm looking forward to it, but I'm no pushover," Misty actually was looking forward to it and if Samantha wasn't going to be a jerk, Misty imagined they could be friends.

"Clearly I know that now, but you should go get your prize," Samantha looked past Misty.

"There's a prize?" Misty had only entered for some fun and training experience, not realizing that she probably was overqualified or that there was a prize.

"I assumed that's why you entered, you get a water stone," Samantha pointed to someone behind Misty.

"Really? That's cool, thanks for letting me know," Misty walked away going to a man waving her over from the sidelines holding a small box.

"Here is your prize," he opened the box and revealed a water stone which Misty gratefully took. She wasn't sure what she wanted to use it for yet, but evolution stones were somewhat rare and having a water stone was a definite plus for a water Pokemon trainer.

After talking to a few trainers she left the small arena and went to the Pokemon center for her hurt Pokemon. She swiped her gym leader id and then handed her Pokemon over to Nurse Joy. Swiping her id sent her location back to her sisters who called her on the video phone a few minutes later.

After a decently long conversation they said goodbye and a few minutes later Misty's Pokemon were returned to her. After thanking them for a good battle she sent Politoad and Starmie back to the gym to help her sisters. Starmie was one of her most experienced and versatile Pokémon so it could handle itself well. Politoad was actually quite strong, but he developed a bit of her pacifistic nature after evolving so Misty had to be very direct in commanding him in battle. She hoped her sisters could use them effectively.

She decided to stay overnight in the Pokemon Center, at this point she had made enough money in the gym that she could afford to spend the night in a hotel, but she wanted to experience the feeling of traveling again even if only for a little while.

The next morning when she woke up on the slightly uncomfortable bed she halfway regretted her choice to stay in the Pokemon Center. She debated visiting Lieutenant Surge to say hello, but she was worried he might try to drag her into a battle like he often tried when they met at gym leader gatherings.

Misty made it to the water without incident and called out Gyrados who looked happy to be in the water, of course everyone nearby scattered in fear. "Sorry," Misty yelled to them as she climbed on top of Gyrados. "Gyrados ready to swim a bit?"

Gyrados roared in what Misty believed was agreement and they swam away from the shore quickly making it out to open sea. She let Corsola and Staryu out of their Pokeballs to enjoy the open sea, she briefly wished Seadra could get some exercise out in the ocean. She remembered how it got sick back when it was a Horsea, but the huge tanks back at the gym were enough for Seadra to stay happy and healthy.

She was interrupted from her musings when Staryu made a noise glancing over she saw a few Tentacool approaching them. Seeing they were ready for a fight she sent Corsola and Staryu to take care of them. "Staryu, use rapid spin and Corsola use tackle," Misty pointed at the tentacool who were growing closer.

After a relatively short fight the Tentacool were sent running, but before they disappeared Misty managed to throw a Pokeball at one of the closest ones catching it inside. After watching the Pokeball blinking in the water for a little while, it stopped meaning Misty had successfully caught a Tentacool. "Alright, we did it," she cheered and jumped into the water swimming over and grabbing the floating ball placing it in her bag.

The rest of the ride across wasn't too eventful eventually Psyduck came out and sat next to Misty refusing to get into the water, never having learned to swim. Staryu and Corsola fought off a few more Pokemon that came to bother them, mainly Tentacool, but Misty didn't attempt to catch any of them. When the shore came into view she returned Gyrados and Psyduck not wanting to make a scene and instead allowed Staryu to take her the rest of the way.

She missed riding on Lapras with Ash and Tracey, but spending time with her Pokemon for company was still fun.

The sandy beaches were a welcome sight and the tropical setting was exactly what she needed to distance herself from work for a while.

She made a point of dropping Tentacool off in the Pokemon Center before heading to the beach to soak up the sun.

She put on her sunglasses and laid on her beach chair letting herself get some rest, riding on Gyrados wasn't particularly relaxing.

She listened to the crashing waves and the sounds of beach goers while she closed her eyes. She couldn't tell how long it had been, but sooner than she liked she was interrupted. "Hi, do you want to hang out with me and a few of my friends," a boy about her age asked dragging her back to reality.

"Sorry, I'm just relaxing," Misty said not wanting to hurt his feelings, but she wasn't interested in spending time with some random guy.

"Oh, Ok," he stepped back without issue, but before he left his friends started yelling at him.

"Dude get her," Another random guy who she immediately disliked yelled at his friend as if she couldn't hear him.

"Sorry my friends are persistent," the first boy looked slightly embarrassed.

Misty saw the Pokeballs on his belt, "How about this if I beat you in a Pokemon battle you guys have to leave me alone."

"OK and if I win I get to take you out on a date," he smiled at her. Although Misty had a crush on Ash when they were traveling she had been on a few dates since returning home. She still had some feelings for Ash, but he wasn't around so she wasn't completely hung up on him. The boy was cute and it wouldn't kill her to go on a date so she was alright with the stakes. Of course she certainly didn't plan to lose.

"Go Staryu," she threw the Pokeball high into the air releasing Staryu who called out its standard cry 'hyah'.

"Come on out Raticate," the boy who still hadn't said his name let a Raticate out who immediately had the disadvantage on the terrain.

"Raticate use quick attack," the boy pointed at Staryu.

"Use rapid spin," Misty commanded and Staryu started spinning faster and fast before flying at the quickly approaching Raticate. They flew in different directions due to the force of the collision, but Staryu looked unhurt.

"Use hyper fang," Raticate pulled itself up and launched back at Staryu.

"Don't let it get you, push it away with water gun and follow it with swift," Staryu started shooting sprays of water at Raticate who dodged most of them, but was finally hit knocking it off balance. Raticate was then hit with the swift attack, but it pulled itself up easily.

"Use hyper fang again," Raticate sprung quickly and managed to bite onto one of the edges of Staryu who started shaking to get the Raticate off. Raticate bit hard enough to actually break off the tip of Staryu's appendage.

"Staryu get into the water and use recover," Misty was less fazed that one would be at a Pokemon losing part of a limb. She knew Staryu could regrow any damaged or missing part.

"Raticate get ready," the boy seemed slightly worried at how calm Misty was.

"Use bubblebeam," Staryu popped up suddenly shooting a wave of bubbles at the Raticate.

"Dodge it with quick attack," the boy commanded and his Pokemon did manage to get out of the way. Misty saw the Raticate was quick, but it was clearly having difficulty finding purchase on the grass.

"Use swift," Misty still was unfazed and this time Raticate couldn't get out of the way quick enough.

"Hit it with quick attack," Raticate lunged towards Staryu.

"Use rapid spin and finish it with hydro pump," Misty watched as once again the Pokemon collided. Once Raticate was off balance again it was struck with the high pressured water knocking it out. Some of the crowd that had formed cheered for Misty and some groaned for their friend.

"Wow you're really good," the boy walked over to Misty after he returned his Raticate to his Pokeball.

"Thanks, but it was hardly fair I had the ocean right here and you're Raticate was trying to run on sand," Misty replied returning her own Pokemon, but even as she spoke she got a quick rush of pride.

"So I guess we aren't going on a date," he laughed and Misty returned it with a small smile. "I'm Dillon, I guess it's a bit late, but I never introduced myself."

Before Misty could reply another person jumped over to them. "Let me take a shot at her," one of his friends yelled having watched the match. A few of his other friends started to try to challenge her and didn't listen when she asked them not to.

"Sorry," Dillon said trying to hold back one of his more eager friends.

"I think I know how to take care of this, Gyrados scare them away," she threw Gyrados' pokeball and allowed him to roar at everyone on the beach once again terrifying everyone, even those who weren't bothering her.

Misty returned Gyrados and headed back to the Pokemon Center to check on Tentacool who finished healing a few minutes before she returned. She took Tentacool to a more secluded section of the beach to introduce him to the rest of her team. Tentacool was a bit standoffish at first, but relaxed more over time and warmed up to the rest of her team.

Misty managed to train Tentacool a bit with her other Pokemon hoping to make it a good addition to the Cerulean gym.

She spent the rest of the day on the beach hanging out with her Pokemon and swimming.

Night came around far sooner than she expected and she decided to spend the night in the local Pokemon Center. Rather than hang out on the beach she planned to go and explore the next day.

When she woke up she decided to explore one of the Seafoam islands caves. Normally it would have taken her a while to actually rouse herself so early in the morning, but she hopped into one of the showers they had and pulled on some of the clothing she brought with her. Her excite providing the energy she needed to get moving.

After getting directions from a local she found the entrance to the cave, but before she reached it a Krabby ran up to her. It didn't make any move to attack her it just stood near her bubbling. It was bigger than Ash's Krabby before it evolved, but she still had to crouch down to get on its level. "Hi Krabby," she greeted it not sure what to do. It just continued bubbling so she carefully patted its head and walked into the cave.

It wasn't as dark as she was expecting, but she still carried Staryu in her arms, its gem glowing like a flashlight. The Zubat hanging at the top of the cave worried her a bit, but they didn't make any moves to bother her so she continued in further. The only sound was her footfalls, the small noises Staryu occasionally made, the splashing of water which she was approaching and a strange clicking noise.

**A/N**

**Thank you for reading, please comment and let me know what you thought about the chapter. I managed to upload this second chapter in one day or technically less than one day since my last chapter. I can't imagine being able to keep that pace so please don't expect a chapter every day, but I'll try to move quickly for the sake of anyone who enjoys this. **

**So Misty made her way from the Gym over to the Seafoam Islands and she is going to be looking around the cave. For people who played the games, you may know one Articuno can be found there, but I don't plan on Misty stumbling on any legendary Pokemon, well not yet anyway. Like I said Ash and Misty most certainly will be meeting up, but I'm giving Misty some time to catch a few Pokemon and train. In a few chapters they'll be meeting up so any other PokeShippers give me a few chapters. **

* * *

**Comment Responses (I'm a bit shocked I got any reviews so quickly)**

Jasmine- If people enjoy this story and I make it as long as I'd like to. Misty will probably be going into other regions so there is a high chance that she will be able to catch a Feebas or a Buizel maybe both. As far as a Squirtle goes I love Squirtle, so you expect to see one at some point for sure. I'm not sure if Misty will catch another Horsea, but her Horsea which is now a Seadra will play a role later in the story.

Other people- I replied in private messages because you aren't anonymous.

* * *

**Trivia**

-In one episode Misty stated how cute she thought Tentacool was referring to the red orb on their head as "The ruby of the sea"

-In the game canon it is said that Misty goes to Seafoam islands often to train.

-In the Orange Islands Ash, Misty, and Tracey rode on a Lapras as their main means of transportation in the water.

-It was a running gag that Psyduck couldn't swim however when Psyduck got a bad headache it would begin to use incredible psychic powers. After using its powers Psyduck would forget it had any power or that it used any abilities.

-Ash once had a Krabby who was very small in size he fought it on his own using a stick he found on the beach rather than enter in a real battle with it before capturing it. It later evolved into a Kingler who became a powerhouse on his team and helped him in the Indigo League.

**Misty's Current Team**

-Tentacool

-Corsola

-Psyduck

-Staryu

-Gyrados

**(In the Gym)**

-Starmie

-Politoad

-Seadra

-Seaking

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows


	3. Chapter 3: The Cave

**Alright** **everyone please enjoy the chapter**

**Chapter 3: The cave**

* * *

Despite her original worries the cave was incredibly beautiful, light filtered in through holes in the top of the cave and reflected off the ice and water leaving it light enough to easily see in most areas. The glittering icy walls of the cave encouraged her to explore further, she noticed the cave seemed to grow slightly colder the deeper she went. After walking for a few minutes she heard sounds coming from deeper within and decided to find the source. Going into a somewhat dark cave searching for strange noises probably wasn't a great plan, but she trusted her Pokemon to keep her safe.

Misty came upon a small lake, the sound reverberating through the cave was the splashing made by Pokemon swimming, nothing remotely dangerous. Near her a Slowpoke was wandering around, a few Seel were playing in the water, and a group of Psyduck were swimming. Even compared to wild Psyduck her own was really pathetic it couldn't even swim, on the other hand its psychic powers were far greater than a normal Psyduck's when it actually managed to use them. She'd started commanding Psyduck to just head butt its opponents to increase its headache, she remembered when she thought about smashing its head with a bike. In general she tended not to send it out because it could be risky, but Psyduck often decided to hop out on his own. However, mainly by luck, Psyduck usually pulled through for her. She was grateful for that, but it didn't mean she didn't want to pull her hair out every time Psyduck jumped out on its own.

As if responding to her thoughts Psyduck jumped out of its Pokeball and started conversing with the slowpoke. It was closer to a staring contest than an actual conversation, but she left Psyduck to do what it wanted and decided to focus on her other Pokemon.

She trained for a little while and continued to explore the cave without going too deep, she didn't want to get hopelessly lost. The entire time she would hear this small clicking noise that would stop whenever she did. Eventually when she turned around and started walking back to the entrance she saw the Krabby from earlier. "Did you follow me little guy?" Misty crouched down to look at it.

Krabby bubbled and nuzzled against Misty's outstretched hand. "Would you like to come with me?" She asked the Pokemon slightly confused at its actions. Krabby made a few affirmative noises and Misty placed a Pokeball on the ground giving it a choice. Krabby just clicked its claw happily a few times before stepping up to the Pokeball and staring at it for a few moments.

Krabby tapped on the Pokeball allowing itself to be captured, Misty picked it up feeling a bit like Ash whenever he got a Pokemon without really capturing it. After "catching" her new Krabby and returning all of her Pokemon she left the cave. She didn't realize it was already nighttime until she stepped out of the cave and saw the moon overhead. The time in the cave seemed to pass quickly and Misty knew it was almost time to head back to the Pokemon Center.

The beach looked beautiful at night so Misty took a long walk thinking her life over, perhaps she was being too introspective on her little vacation, but it was important. She loved working in the gym, but spending time away reinforced her idea that she needed to do something else for a while. When she was older and ready to settle down permanently she'd be happy to stay in the gym, but she still had her entire life in front of her. She'd gotten a taste of freedom and she needed to experience more of the world before she decided to take on a job that would likely last most of her life.

She also missed her friends, she still spoke to them on the phone or visited once in a while, but it was too infrequent especially Ash. He was traveling so much that Misty could never be sure exactly where he was. So Misty had to rely on him to contact her and he wasn't great at remembering to call her, not because he didn't care, but he got distracted and was forgetful. Which like Psyduck made her crazy, but it did make his calls more special.

She also thought about her new two Pokemon Tentacool and Krabby, in the few days she had been away from the gym she'd captured new Pokemon and she loved that aspect of being a trainer. She adored all her Pokemon, but there was something about catching a new Pokemon that was exciting.

She walked to the Pokemon Center deep in thought enjoying the cool night and the quiet streets. After swiping in she gave her Pokemon to Nurse Joy. They weren't particularly injured, but she did have them training in the cave so they were worn out.

The video phone started ringing and she ignored it until she realized the call was actually for her. With a simple click the screen flickered to life and to her surprise Ash's face showed up. He seemed a bit older every time she saw him, but that was mainly due to the fact that most of her memories of him were of when they were both young and his infrequent calls. Still even as he got older she could always see a bit of that stupid ten year old in him.

"Ash," she practically yelled before composing herself shaking off her surprise. She wondered if thinking about him actually summoned the boy somehow by her thoughts. She quickly disregarded that ridiculous idea and instead wondered why he was calling.

"Hey Misty," he greeted a broad smile on his face. Misty looked behind him and saw he was in a Pokemon Center as well, but she had no idea where.

"How'd you know where I was?" Misty hadn't told anyone where she was heading, only her sisters knew she was on a trip and Misty was pretty sure she didn't specify to where.

"I called the gym and you weren't there so you're sister patched me through to here, wherever here is," Ash laughed slightly. Misty quickly realized the moment she swiped in with her Id it would alert her sisters where she was on the Cerulean gym's computers.

"I'm actually at the Seafoam Islands, in the Pokemon Center," Misty gestured to the rest of the Center with a sweep of her arm.

"Why? Don't you have to run the gym?" Ash asked looking at Misty confusion written on his face, Misty absently noticed he looked cute.

"I'm just taking a quick vacation, to train, catch a few Pokemon and relax," Misty replied stretching her arms above her head.

"You're catching new Pokemon?" Ash asked already looking excited at the prospect of Pokemon. Misty sighed, leave it to Ash to care more about the Pokemon than her.

"Yeah, I already caught a Tentacool and a Krabby," Misty held up their Pokeballs.

"Wow, Mist aren't you the best a Krabby and a Tentacool," he said sarcastically with what Misty thought was a stupid smirk.

She felt her temper rising in the way only Ash seemed to be able to bring out, "Hey Ash, how many Pokemon did you catch over your entire journey across Kanto?"

Ash just grumbled in response which gave Misty an opportunity to continue her rant, "I only went after water Pokemon and in a few days I caught two."

"Hey, I went for quality over quantity," Ash shot back.

"Yeah all thirty of those Tauros were just for quality," Misty said deadpanned. "Beyond that I seem to remember you catching a Krabby and unlike yours mine is full sized. Besides I'm going to evolve it and Tentacool and they'll be wonderful additions to my gym." Misty couldn't resist adding, "Plus I actually caught my Pokemon I didn't just get mine by fluke like you did." Misty made sure not to mention that her Krabby actually chose to follow her, something she berated Ash for before he caught his own Krabby.

"Fluke?" Ash asked his very familiar annoyance already apparent in his voice.

"Yeah, most of your first Pokemon decided to follow you and you had help from Brock and me," Misty pointed out.

Instead of getting mad he responded, "You said the exact same thing before I caught my Krabby," Ash recalled the conversation they had literally years ago with slight pout.

"With a stick," Misty rolled her eyes while trying to fight off a smile. Both of them started laughing at the familiarity of their old fight.

"This is why I miss you Mist," Ash smiled wistfully, "I can't talk like this with anyone else, everything is easier and more comfortable with you."

"Well I'm sure I have a special place in your heart," it was only after she spoke that Misty noticed the slight implication and hid her blush behind coughing. She did note that Ash had to hide his own tiny blush so she didn't feel as embarrassed.

"Anyway," Ash quickly redirected the conversation, "I'm coming back to Kanto soon to stay for a while."

"Really, when?" Misty asked this time not bothering to hide her excitement. The prospect of him being home was great and somewhat surprising considering how often he was travelling.

"I'm heading back in a few days, I'm going to be staying at my house and I really want to see you, Mist," Ash's voice dropped a bit towards the end.

"I'll come by when I get back or you can come to the gym. Just call Cerulean when you get back, if I'm not there my sisters will call me to let me know you're back," Misty smiled, happy they would finally get to spend some time together in person after what seemed like a long time. Actually Misty reasoned it had been a long time since they had been together.

"OK," Ash gave her a thumbs up and a broad smile.

"I'm really happy I'm going to be able to see you again in person," Misty admitted, but it was pretty obvious from the grin on her face which she couldn't have stopped even if she wanted to.

They spoke for a while longer about everything going on in their lives before saying goodnight and promising to see each other soon. She turned in for the night, once again sleeping in the Pokemon Center.

She planned on going back out, catching a few more Pokemon, and training the one's she already caught, to prove a point to Ash. She knew that while travelling the world he'd been training and catching his own Pokemon and she wasn't going to let herself look bad. She refused to admit she wanted to impress him, but she certainly didn't want to fall behind her friend.

The next morning she sent Corsola and Psyduck back to the gym to give her room to catch more new Pokemon. Misty headed back to the cave and found a Slowpoke instead of letting Psyduck have quality time with another slow Pokemon, she called out her Krabby and with almost no work she weakened and captured it. It was actually rather anti-climactic, but she still caught the Slowpoke. She stumbled across another water stone near the lake she had visited the day before and picked it up, surprised at the lucky find.

Leaving the cave she went to the edge of a pier in a secluded section of the beach to fish, she allowed her new slowpoke to fish alongside her. Her slowpoke failed to catch anything, but after getting a few Magicarp which she released she hooked a Shellder and managed to catch it.

Using her new Pokemon she trained for a while before battling a few other trainers. She kept herself from using Staryu or Gyrados instead focusing on Shellder, Krabby, Tentacool, and to a lesser extent Slowpoke. Luckily they were next to the water because Tentacool wasn't very useful on land, not as bad as her Goldeen had been, but unless he was in water he wasn't effective.

She lost as often as she won, but it was good experience for her to get used to battling with different Pokemon and for the Pokemon to get battling experience. Plus it didn't effect the gym so she didn't have to worry, she was anonymous on the island.

The next day she spent most of her time around the city shopping, sightseeing, and enjoying herself. It wasn't extremely practical, but in her mind she deserved a break from battling and training for a little while. However that night she was back by the water. She was planning on heading back home to see Ash and check on the gym, at some point in the next few days. After some deliberation she spent the following day focusing mainly on Shellder before asking it if it would like to evolve with one of her water stones.

She was worried that they hadn't trained enough and that she would be evolving Shellder too soon, but Ash's Krabby it evolved in its first battle and that turned out fine. Still she knew evolving a Pokemon wasn't something to be done without thought, but from what she could tell training with Shellder it was already quite strong when she caught it. It didn't seem to be too young to evolve, but she wasn't going to force anything on the Pokemon. Leaving the decision up to Shellder was the best choice in her opinion. Shellder seemed pleased with the idea so Misty allowed it to evolve and soon she was staring at a happy Cloyster.

Misty allowed her Pokemon to enjoy the rest of the day without any battles so they could relax on the beach. Spending time with her Pokemon outside of battle was extremely important so she could further her relationships with them and become closer. She preferred to be friends with her Pokemon so they listened to her rather than force them to do what she wanted. That was one of the first things that drew her to Ash, his love of Pokemon.

The morning after she walked to the edge of the water and let her Gyrados out, before climbing on top. She was a bit sad that it felt like her time away from the gym flew by, but she was also happy to see Ash and get back to the Pokemon she had to leave behind. She started her trip back to Vermilion so she could get a ride back to Cerulean from the city. It was early so there weren't many people on the beach, but one last time everyone panicked when Gyrados appeared.

She hadn't thought too much about Ash in recent times, he was her best friend so of course she thought about him and had memories of him. Occasionally something would remind her of Ash, but not like when she first left. When she first returned home she thought about him all the time. Her girlish crush was still alive and well, but over time she focused more on her work. She grew up a bit and she was proud of that, but somewhere inside that blushing girl was hiding away, waiting for an opportunity to embarrass her.

Now knowing he was coming back memories started surfacing again, and she spent the ride reminiscing about her past and her friends, especially Ash. She wasn't sure why, but she was actually nervous to see her best friend. Of course she was far more excited than nervous so she was hoping he would get back as soon as possible.

* * *

**A/N**

**I managed to post another chapter this weekend which is kind of crazy. I've been so excited about writing this that the chapter just came together. I won't be posting another chapter until next Friday/next weekend. Anyway the reunion will come either next chapter or the chapter after so I hope you are looking forward to it.**

**Thank you to everyone who has read this and favorited, followed, or reviewed so far, I'm extremely grateful to all of you. **

**Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about the chapter. Also tell me if there is anything you might like me to include (A certain Pokemon or something to that effect.)**

* * *

**Trivia**

**-**In the games multiple water stones can be found in the Seafoam islands caves.

-Psyduck met a Slowpoke at Seafoam islands and they had a random chat.

-In one episode Misty pointed out that Ash really didn't catch most of his Pokemon and that they were mainly flukes. Due to this Ash got annoyed at Misty which led to the capture of his Krabby.

-Ash really hadn't caught too many Pokemon in Kanto, however he did catch thirty Tauros in the Safari zone. Although it was mainly by accident because they kept blocking him from catching other Pokemon. The episode was never aired in America because a gun was shown in the episode.

-The dub just said that he caught the Tauros, but never showed how.

-Ash has used a Tauros multiple times in battle, it isn't known whether or not it is the same one. (I prefer to think he uses a single one)

-To be fair Misty hadn't caught many Pokemon either, but she caught some before meeting Ash and she also had the Pokemon in the Cerulean Gym. Plus she was focused on water Pokemon (With a few exceptions) so her options were more limited.

* * *

Pokemon (On hand)

-Gyrados

-Staryu

-Tentacool

-Shellder -Cloyster

-Krabby

-Slowpoke

(In the Gym)

-Corsola

-Psyduck

-Starmie

-Politoad

-Seadra

-Seaking

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows


	4. Chapter 4: The Invite

**Hello again everyone, this chapter may feel like not much happens, but I promise everything will be related to the future of the story.**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"Everybody, I'm home," Misty yelled when she jogged through the automatic doors of the gym. Although it had only been a week she was still happy to be back. On the other hand she wished she was still free to explore, it was an odd mix of emotions, but she decided to focus on the positive feelings.

"Misty, you're back," Daisy had been by the front desk so she hopped up and brought her into a hug.

"Hi Daisy, how have things been here without me?" Misty asked trying to trust her sisters had kept things in order.

"Like, great," Daisy smiled, giving Misty a bit of relief.

"Really?" Misty wasn't necessarily surprised, but she was happy.

"Yeah, we had another water show which was a big hit," Misty smiled at her excitement rather than roll her eyes but Daisy continued, "and we won like most of the battles when people challenged us."

"You did?" Once again Misty tried not to be surprised.

"Most of them were like really weak and our Pokemon beat them easily. There were a few tougher trainers who beat us, but only a few," Daisy looked pretty excited with herself. It really was much better than back when they would lose multiple matches in a day.

"I'm glad you guys are making an effort," Misty gave a genuine smile. Her sisters were very good at what they did and what they were meant to do, it just wasn't working in the gym. She should probably look into getting some help, it would be worth it and the gym could afford it now. Misty had been on a hot streak recently, but once in a while she lost to experienced trainers who challenged her so she couldn't blame her sisters for losing a few times over the course of the week if there were some tough trainers.

She knew the gym would be better off in her hands, but losing a few times wasn't going to ruin the gym's reputation. She could live with that because she knew her sisters were making an effort and if she continued to do well on her own it wouldn't have a huge impact. Besides even her sisters were able to beat the inexperienced trainers, so their record was slightly inflated. It was infuriating, but the stronger the gym got the less young trainers would be challenging them. Misty had already begun to see the change.

Most gyms faced the problem of weak trainers who just started challenging them because they were the closest to where they got their first Pokemon. Smarter trainers spent more time training and catching Pokemon before going to the gyms they thought would be easier for them to start with. Cerulean used to be one of those weak gyms while her sisters were in charge, they were bad leaders and before turning ten she couldn't fight for the Gym. So on and off for her first year of Pokemon training she had to be the gym leader, while she was able to beat weaker trainers she didn't have enough fighting experience to fight stronger trainers.

Although her sisters were actually a large part of why she originally left, she did have a plan. Like she had just done, she left to train and catch Pokemon. Instead of Pokemon she hooked Ash and decided to stay with him. In the beginning it was out of anger about her bike and not wanting to be alone in the forest. However it quickly progressed into something more and she found herself traveling with him longer than either of them expected. They became best friends and she developed a little crush on him, but she didn't act on it. She wasn't sure how he felt and she didn't want to ruin their friendship or make travelling awkward.

When she returned after traveling with Ash she had far more experience and more Pokemon to use she was able to fight on the level she believed she should as a leader. It had taken a while, but over the last two years she had managed to improve the standing of Cerulean and her own skills facing different types of opponents. It was both good and bad she was happy Cerulean wasn't a joke, but it also meant stronger trainers looked at it as a challenge and started to approach it.

She relished the challenge and was happy to do it, but if too many of them came in a row she had to turn away challengers to let her Pokemon rest. That's why she wanted more Pokemon, she wanted to use her newer Pokemon to take on weaker trainers and save her stronger Pokemon for real challenges to conserve their energy.

"Misty are you like in there?" Daisy asked waving a hand in front her face looking slightly concerned at Misty's long silence.

"What, of course. Anyway I want to drop off the Pokemon I caught while I was away," Misty walked by her.

"Ooh, what did you get?" Daisy asked making it sound like she bought groceries or clothes.

"You already know I sent back Tentacool, but I also caught a Shellder and she already evolved into a Cloyster. I also caught an affectionate Krabby and a Slowpoke, I'm taking them back to the tanks so we can talk a bit more later," Misty had already started walking by her so she had to call the last half of her statement over her shoulder.

"OK, talk to you later," Daisy yelled back as Misty moved further away and out of earshot.

Cerulean had been getting more money from the Pokemon league for improving its standing so when she said tanks she was referring to a few large tanks and what was basically an indoor lake. The indoor lake linked to a few smaller pool and an underwater tunnel leading to a smaller outdoor lake which had a shallow end and a beach.

Beyond that there was enough grassy areas for Pokemon to walk around. She knew that's where she would be putting Slowpoke and Krabby who could live on land as long as it was near water. She knew Cloyster would prefer to stay in the water with most of her other Pokemon including Tentacool.

She released Staryu, Cloyster, and Gyrados into the saltwater lake, after saying goodbye to them and hello to the Pokemon that came up to greet her, she walked down the path to the outdoor lake. Psyduck preferred to stay on dry land so when he wasn't bothering her he stayed outside. She let Krabby and Slowpoke out to explore their new home with Psyduck waddling after them. Politoad greeted her by clapping, it preferred to stay outside as well near the smallest lake left unconnected to the others because it was freshwater.

The moment she walked back inside she was greeted by her other two sisters who wanted to know how her trip went and then promptly complained about her going to Seafoam islands. She calmly reminded them of the various trips they went on leaving her alone. They had the decency not to say anything else on the subject, but still welcomed her back and Misty despite herself was glad to see them.

Misty prepared a simple lunch for herself and while eating she was interrupted by a call. She answered the phone expecting something from work or a friend, but it was Ash's mother, "Mrs. Ketchum?"

"First, I've told you a million times please call me Delia," Ash's mother looked at Misty with mock sternness and continued in her normal tone, "Anyway Misty, I know Ash already told you he was coming back, but I'm planning on throwing him a tiny get together to celebrate him coming home. It's really just some of the people from in town who haven't seen him, and then me and professor Oak."

"Oh, that's nice," Misty commented not sure why Mrs. Ketchum telling her. Although they did talk sometimes with Misty not having a mother figure in her life, Mrs. Ketchum told her whenever she needed advice. So sometimes Misty called her or Mrs. Ketchum called to check up on her, but she didn't really know why Mrs. Ketchum was calling.

"I wanted to invite you, over to greet him with everyone," Delia looked at her smiling.

"Are you sure? I thought you just said it was for the people in town who wanted to see him again," Misty was quite surprised that she was being invited to something that was supposed to be for just the Pallet town residents. Now the call made sense, but she hadn't expected the invite.

"I know, but when Ash called to tell me he was coming home the kept mentioning how he wanted to see you. It was so cute and I figured it would be a nice surprise to have you there with everyone else," Delia laughed lightly and Misty blushed slightly cursing herself over her warming face.

Without too much thought Misty replied, "OK, sure when should I come?"

"Just stop by tomorrow afternoon, he said that's when he'd be getting back, but if I know my boy he's probably going to get distracted and won't get back until the evening," Delia laughed and Misty joined her remembering how often they got lost or had to stop for something random.

Before they could get any deeper into the conversation Misty was interrupted by one of her sisters yelling that she had another challenger. "I'll be there I'll see you soon Delia," she made sure not to call her Mrs. Ketchum.

When Misty greeted her challenger it was like she never left, despite having been home for less than an hour she fell right back into the routine. The only main difference was that she made sure to let her newer Pokemon get some battling experience before bringing out her usual fighters.

The rest of the day passed quickly and she went to the office to check to see if she received any bills or mail from the Pokemon League. She knew she'd completed everything before she left, but random paperwork came in all the time. She found a few forms, but to her surprise they were already filled out with Daisy's signature at the bottom. They were actually all filled out correctly and the right orders for food were placed. She made a mental note to thank Daisy the next day.

She knew she acted like a jerk to her sisters sometimes and didn't have enough faith in them, but sometimes it was hard to overcome how they treated her when she was younger. As a child they largely ignored her or made fun of her because she was the youngest and she was a hand-me-down child.

By the time she was eight her parents were gone and she had to take care of herself in a lot of ways. The Cerulean gym fell from a great gym down to what her sisters turned it into, a water ballet stadium. Misty was doing her best to restore is prestige.

Still Misty couldn't blame them too much, she knew none of her sisters were really made to take care of the gym. They weren't really trainers and they hadn't known enough to have a gym thrown to them. Misty respected that they kept it open, but the only reason it didn't fall apart was that they relied on friends of the family for help with running it and they could only do so much.

They were too free spirited and cared too much about their shows, traveling, and especially themselves. Misty admitted she too had left for a period of time, but she was eleven and thought that together her sisters would be able to hold things together.

The next morning she did remembered to thank Daisy who shrugged her off saying she shouldn't need to be thanked for doing something that really was partly their responsibility. Misty wrapped her in an impromptu hug which surprised both of them, but Daisy returned it. Like usual Misty was called out for a battle and again it was a young trainer who she defeated, but tried to encourage. She never wanted to discourage young trainers so after the battle she usually gave them advice.

Before she had even finished saying goodbye another young girl popped up and was grinning widely.

"Hi," Misty tried to return the girls smile, but couldn't compete with the bright expression on the younger girls face.

"It's really you," she girl stared at her with an intensity that surprised her.

"Yeah, I'm really me," Misty replied somewhat weakly.

"I'm Taylor and I just wanted to meet you, I want to be a water Pokemon trainer too," Taylor was practically bouncing.

"You do?" Misty was as happy that a young trainer wanted to focus on water Pokemon as she was surprised that she popped up out of the blue.

"Yeah and I heard all about you so I wanted to meet you and maybe learn from you," Taylor hadn't dropped her excitement level.

"Well if you want I can show you around a bit and introduce you to some of my Pokemon. I have to leave in a few hours, but we can hang out for a bit," Misty wasn't sure why she decided to indulge the girl, but it did pump up her pride to have a little fan.

The girl was almost hyperventilating, her excitement almost palpable and Misty actually backed up a step. "Really?" Taylor almost whispered.

"Sure, it's no trouble," Misty shrugged.

Taylor almost jumped for joy, "OK, where do we go first."

"Follow me," Misty walked away Taylor on her heels, "This is the stadium where challengers battle me for the Cascade badge."

"Cool," Taylor looked into the water, but quickly chased after Misty as she continued walking.

"Most people only see the stadium pool, but this is where I keep most of the Pokemon," Misty walked into the other room which contained the huge saltwater lake. The younger girl just gaped at the large space.

"Staryu, Starmie I want you guys to come up and say hello," she yelled to the water. Pokemon could hear voices from underwater and her two Pokemon were on land in only a few seconds.

"Hyah," Staryu greeted followed by a mellow 'haah' from Starmie.

"They're so beautiful, I've seen pictures in books, but I never actually met any Staryu or Starmie," Taylor looked at them almost reverently reaching out to touch their jewels which they allowed.

Misty spent a while showing Taylor around and meeting her Pokemon. "So Taylor, you want to be a water trainer. Are there any specific Pokemon you want to raise?"

"Well I have two now and I really like them," Taylor said slightly surprising Misty who didn't realize the girl had already begun training.

"You already have Pokemon? I thought you wanted to be a water trainer I didn't realize you already started."

"Yeah, my older sister's Pokemon had an egg and she gave it to me, it hatched into a Squirtle. I also caught a Poliwag while I was near a river playing with Squirtle," Taylor let them both out and squirmed slightly under Misty's scrutiny. "I haven't really trained them at all," she admitted as Misty continued to stare at them.

"I had a friend who had a Squirtle and an acquaintance who has a Blastiose, it's a very reliable Pokemon you're lucky to have it. I had a Poliwag too, but it's evolved twice so it's a Politoad now. Poliwags can be a little clumsy, but they're worth training for sure," Misty squatted down to look at Taylor's Pokemon. "They both look healthy and happy, you seem to be doing fine so far in taking care of them," Misty said patting the Squirtle on the head who grinned.

Misty glanced at the clock and realized it was about time for her to get ready to go to Pallet. "I've got to run, but if you come back in a few days I should be back and I can teach you about Pokemon battles and help you train a little bit." One look at Taylor's face told her the younger girl would be back, she fondly remembered when she had to help Ash and give him advice when he started, of course he often ignored her.

After showering and getting dressed she grabbed a few of the Pokemon that knew Ash so they could see him again. She ran down to say goodbye to her sisters and immediately they commented on her attire, "Are you like, trying to impress someone Misty?" Lily looked her over critically. Misty was wearing a dress she had picked up a few months ago, it was a simple dress that was ended a few inches above her knees. It was royal blue at the bottom, but became progressively lighter as it went up leaving it completely white where the straps reached her shoulders. She thought it highlighted her figure pretty well without being too tight, so despite not knowing as much about clothing as her sisters she thought it was a good choice. It was only the beginning of spring, but it was a warm day so the dress suited the temperature decently.

Misty blushed slightly, but stomped her foot quickly trying to put her sister in her place, "Shut up, Lily."

"Calm down, Misty. You actually look pretty," Daisy tried to talk her down.

"Yeah, not sensational, but not bad especially for you," Violet gave her a compliment mixed with an insult, but Misty could tell she meant in a positive way.

"So, where are you going?" Lily asked looking her over once last time.

"I'm going to Pallet town to see Ash when he gets back," Misty informed her and immediately regretted it when all three of her sisters widened their eyes in understanding and identical smiles made their way onto their faces.

"We were right, we knew you liked him," Violet teased and both Lily and Daisy nodded sagely.

"I'm just visiting it doesn't mean anything," Misty shot back anger and embarrassment both prevalent.

"And you're nice dress means nothing," Lily quirked a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

"Don't tease her too much," Daisy once again had to be the mediator which Misty appreciated immensely.

Misty walked away not wanting to deal with the torment, "I'll probably be back tonight, but I'll call if I stay the night."

"Oh my," Violet said giggling.

"Your first time seeing him in a while and your already spending the night with him, you're so forward with men," Lily laughed along with her.

"In the guest room, you freaks," Misty shrieked glad she was far enough away for them not to notice her bright red face. She hadn't considered the implication of what she said, Delia had just mentioned if it got too late she could stay overnight because she didn't want her out too late riding the bus and walking alone.

She stomped all the way to the bus stop and the other riders kept their distance from the fuming girl, an angry aura almost radiating off her. It was only a five minute walk to the Ketchum residence after Misty got off the bus. By the time she arrived her excitement to see Ash completely overpowered her anger at her sisters.

Misty got to Ash's home and after a single knock she was welcomed in by Delia, "Misty, it's wonderful to see you. Every time we meet you look older."

Misty liked Delia so she refrained from making a comment about adults always saying that. "It's great to see you to, Delia."

"Ash should be here soon he called Professor Oak's lab a little while ago and he was already nearby," Delia explained bringing Misty in to meet the other residents of the town. Misty was repeatedly embarrassed by being asked if she was Ash's boyfriend by multiple people. One man told her it made sense that Ash wouldn't be able land such a pretty girlfriend, she decided to avoid that man for a while. She did manage to find Tracey who was a welcome relief and she was happy to catch up with him, learning about his work with Professor Oak.

In the back of her mind she still wondered when Ash was going to arrive.

* * *

**A/N **

**I'm sorry they didn't meet up this chapter, but the chapter was getting longer than I wanted and I wanted to work on the reunion part more. I'll post that tomorrow, I wasn't planning on doing two updates in a row, but I feel like they two chapters should be together. Also I know this chapter didn't do much and sometimes the things I write seem filler-ish, but they always have a purpose. Taylor will not become a major character in the story, but I do have a plan for her that won't come about for a while. Other than that I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to the next. **

Pokemon (On hand)

-Politoad

-Staryu

-Starmie

-Seadra

-Psyduck

-Corsola

(In the Gym)

-Seaking

-Gyrados

-Tentacool

-Slowpoke

-Krabby

-Cloyster

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows

**Trivia**

-In 'Misty Mermaid' the first words Misty said when she returned to Cerulean was, "Everybody, I'm home."

-In the episode 'Misty Mermaid' she had to take Horsea back to Cerulean Gym because it was getting sick with no large bodies of water to swim in. She was forced to participate in an underwater ballet playing the beautiful mermaid. Of course Team Rocket showed up and were defeated, the crowd loved it thinking it was part of the show. It was also the episode Seel evolved into Dewgong, who actually finished off Team Rocket.

-The first time Misty went back to Cerulean with Ash, in episode 7 'The Water Flowers of Cerulean City' her sisters thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend. This actually prompted Misty to battle Ash to prove they weren't dating and to keep her sisters from giving away the Cascade Badge without a fight.

-The title also is why people think Misty's last name is Waterflower and although it's not necessarily true I like the ring of it so in my story she is indeed Misty Waterflower.

-The tanks in the Cerulean gym showed normal fish at a certain part, not Pokemon. Showing that animals exist in the Pokemon world, or at least certain types of fish do. Although normal animals are almost never shown.

**Thanks for reading**


	5. Chapter 5: Just a get together

**Hello People, Ash and Misty are finally coming together and this is the first time I'll switch to Ash's point of view. Generally the story will follow Misty, but I feel the need to get into Ash's head as well. Please Enjoy**

**Chapter 5: Just a get together**

* * *

Ash (POV)

Ash finally reached his home after being away for so long it felt great to finally see his mother in person instead of on a screen. When he opened his door instead of being greeted by his mother or even Mimey he found half the town scattered through his home, thankfully Pallet wasn't too large. "Um, hi," he looked at people the closest to the door. When they saw him they greeted him warmly and loudly which set off a chain reaction with more and more people saying hello to him.

After more conversations than Ash was looking for he finally found his mother, "Mom," he called out to her breaking away from most of the people. She noticed Ash and quickly swept him into a hug, "Hi, mom." He said trying to breathe in her too tight hug.

"Hi, honey I'm happy you finally decided to visit me," Ash noticed there was a bit of reproach at the fact that he very rarely called or visited since he started his journey, but there was an undeniable amount of warmth and happiness.

"Sorry, mom I just get busy while I'm out there," when he said 'out there' he was referring to the parts of the world he'd managed to reach.

"I know you do and you're going to fill me in on everything tomorrow, tonight enjoy yourself and I think there is someone around here who would love to talk to you," she smiled in a way that worried Ash just a little bit.

"Who?" Ash had already spoken to most of the townspeople he knew and he wasn't particularly close to most of the people he imagined could be here that he hadn't met. His brow furrowed in confusion, "Do you mean, Tracey? Because already talked to him."

"No, not Tracey. Actually I see her now," Delia smiled.

"Her?" Ash turned around and saw a familiar head of red hair, it was longer than when he last met her and she wasn't facing him, but he instinctively knew who is was. "Misty," he called out and as she turned to face him he was already moving towards her.

"Hey Ash I-," she started to say, but he already wrapped her up in a tight hug.

"Hi, Misty I really missed you," Ash whispered noticing a few things, first he was finally a bit taller than her, second how much he really missed her, and finally how much he liked having her in his arms. It was an odd cocktail of thoughts, but the happiness at being with her again overrode everything.

His travels just hadn't been the same without her and a wave of some emotion he couldn't quite place hit him. So it was only natural that he held her longer than necessary, but that odd sensation tugged at him again. Instead of focusing on that he just let a smile break across his face when he pulled back and saw her familiar smile shining at him.

* * *

Misty (POV)

She was enveloped in Ash's arms before she could even finish saying hello, but she didn't care she just enjoyed the hug from her best friend. He seemed to hold on longer than usual, but she didn't fight him off and relaxed into his touch. When he pulled back and their eyes finally locked and Misty could see her emotions reflected in his eyes happiness was obvious, relief that they were finally together again was there for sure, but there was something else dancing in the background she couldn't quite place. When she allowed herself to look away Misty saw Pikachu on the ground looking a bit annoyed at Ash. Misty felt Pikachu jump onto her shoulder interrupting them, "Pika pi."

"Hi to you too, Pikachu," Misty greeted the electric mouse who nuzzled into her neck.

"He was almost as excited to see everyone as I was," Ash laughed at his little friend's antics having completely forgotten about Pikachu when he ran to Misty. Pikachu seemed perfectly content resting on Misty's shoulder, "Pikachu always had a soft spot for you."

"Well Pikachu, I have a soft spot for you too," Misty petted Pikachu before adding, "You're my Pika pal remember?"

"Pika," Pikachu replied happily.

"How have you been?" Misty turned to Ash looking over him. Seeing him in person again proved that the video phone hadn't done his growth justice. She noted that he was taller than her and starting to put on some lean muscle. He had grown up since she last saw him, but his face hadn't changed much and his wild black hair was still only partially controlled by his hat. His voice had finally dropped a bit, but his smile hadn't changed. She took a moment to reconcile her memory of Ash and the new teen standing in front of her and liked his new look.

"It's been great traveling and battling, but I'm glad to be home," Ash sighed looking around before letting his eyes rest on Misty. She almost felt him doing the exact same thing she did to him, looking her over and taking in the sight of the slightly new version of the girl he knew. She tried not to be uncomfortable under his eyes, but eventually the staring passed.

Misty rubbed Pikachu's fur slowly, "So do you have any plans now that you're home?"

"Um, not really I guess. I thought more about getting back to Kanto and getting home than what I was going to do when I got back except visiting you of course. I mean I've been traveling with Brock so it's not like I have to see him right away, I only just said goodbye. So I mean I don't really know yet, I'll just do whatever I come up with," Ash scratched the back of his head grinning.

"How long do you think you're going to stay in Kanto?" Misty looked at him carefully not wanting to say anything further without knowing if he was staying long term or if he was staying Ash's version of long term. Ash's version was a short amount of time followed by a rush to get to the next thing, whatever that was.

"Probably a while, I mean I've traveled pretty far and wide plus I'm only fourteen. I can stay in Kanto for some time before trying to find some new adventure. I've noticed a difference being here versus Hoenn or Sinnoh. When I was here every time I did something I imagined what it would be like next time I visited. I loved journeying everywhere, but Kanto is my home and I want to experience it a bit more in a way that isn't so rushed," Ash's answer was far more mature than what Misty was accustomed to and she was extremely happy that he'd be staying.

"That's great, if you're going to be around maybe you could stay at the gym for a little while, we have tons of spare rooms and I've updated the place. I talk about working at the gym all the time when you actually bother to call, so I want you to see what I do," Misty mixed an invitation to visit the gym with a slight bit of annoyance at his infrequent calls.

"I'd really like that Misty," He smiled at her and at the sight she allowed her slight annoyance at him not keeping in contact to fade for the time being. She could be mad another time, now was the time to enjoy his homecoming, she didn't need the mallet.

"Also if you wanted to you could enter some tournaments to keep on top of your game," She pointed out wondering if he would get antsy without something to do.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"Well they host Pokemon tournaments all the time some bigger than others, I won a small one a few days ago. You didn't think the Indigo Conference was the only one did you?" Misty watched him go from slightly confused to realization to a look of excitement at the prospect of more battles.

"Well no, it's just I focused so much on getting badges that we didn't do too much else unless it was on our way," Ash pointed out. It was true although they had many adventures most of it was on accident or by coincidence.

"Actually, why not enter the Indigo Conference again? You made it to the top 16 last time. I want to see how well you do now and this time I'll try entering as well," Misty remembered last time how she and Brock were his coaches. It really was exciting, but the end was pretty anti-climactic.

"Wait, a gym leader can enter? Do we need to get you eight badges as well?" Ash asked confused.

"No, members of the Pokemon League are to enter the tournament in a different way and gym leaders are technically part of the League. If a Gym is ranked with four or five stars the Leader is allowed to enter the Conference, but only four Gym Leaders are allowed to enter in that way. The reason is because a Gym Leader could easily ask their friends for badges and be allowed to get in even if they aren't good enough. Imagine one of my sisters entering because they asked some of their friends for badges. So any Gym Leaders who are ranked with four or five stars have to compete against other gyms who want to enter, before the preliminaries even begin," Misty gave a quick rundown of league regulations.

"So are you a four or five star gym?" Ash didn't know much about league policy or Cerulean's standing in the league.

"Unfortunately, no my sisters took us from a four star gym under my parents down to a single star gym. Each year you can move up one rank and for the past two years I managed to move us up to a two and then three star gym.

"So what are you supposed to do if you're only a three star gym?" Ash apparently decided to wait a bit before delving into the whole ranking system or the topic of her parents, which Misty was glad for.

"I keep track of my battles and win lose rate versus different caliber of trainers. Winning reflects well on the gym especially against trainers with more badges, the computer keeps track. Based on the last time I looked at the data I have I think I'm close to being ranked a four star gym. It's a bit over a month away before the gym gets assessed depending on how well this month goes I may be able to move up a rank if I'm lucky," Misty mentally went over the calculations in her head. If things didn't work out then she could always take the Pokemon Entrance Exam, but that would be her plan B.

"So basically if you do a good job for the next month, you could enter the Conference?" Ash tried to keep it as simple as possible.

"If I do well I would get a chance to enter the tournament. So I need to work even harder from here on out," Misty's eyes lit with fire and determination burned within her.

"What about me, do I need to beat eight gyms again?" Ash looked worried about the prospect of having to chase down eight gym leaders again.

"No once you've entered the Conference after collecting eight badges you are free to enter again for the next three years. Basically unless you committed any crimes or done anything against the league, which you haven't, you're safe. If you make it into the top 32 you get another five years from there, but they don't stack up. So you're still clear to enter this year's tournament, but if in the next two years you don't enter or don't do well, then you will have to collect eight badges again," Misty went through the rules she had memorized after taking over as gym leader.

There were multiple reasons for that policy, one being that talented trainers may be discouraged if they had to collect eight badges every year even if they did well and they may not participate. The league wanted the best of the best so it gave those who it considered worthy the ability to return to keep things interesting. The second reason was that a trainer could just go back to the gyms they already beat the next year and just request badges again, if they wait a few years the leaders would be less likely to just hand them the badge. Of course most leaders had more integrity than that, but there had been instances where badges were just handed out.

"Wow Misty you sure know a lot about this," Ash's compliment dragged her back to reality.

"While you've been out traveling I've been working in the gym and I learned a lot, not just about battling. I've had to do a lot of work with the League and I've talked to a lot of the other Gym leaders I'm pretty well informed," Misty stated proudly.

"Why do they even rank gyms?" Ash seemed to be thinking of his Kanto badges.

"It's mainly to decide how large the stipend they give the gym is. The higher the ranking the more money we receive as our base salary, plus bonus money depending on how the gym does during the year. They also do it so trainers don't get into the Conference too easily," Misty explained.

"How do the rankings do that?" Ash looked genuinely curious and Misty was glad to be able to tell him a bit more about her job.

"You need a minimum of eight badges that's true, but they also count points. Brock and I never brought it up because you challenged gyms that gave you the points you needed," Misty assumed Ash had some sort of plan, which she thought was surprising at the time. Now it seemed like it was dumb luck, like many of the things that happened to him. Still she knew he was a great trainer who loved Pokemon and she knew he'd only gotten better in her absence

"What?" Ash gave an unmanly squeak imaging what would have happened if he somehow chose the wrong gyms.

"There are thirty two gyms all across Kanto so people all over can find gyms to challenge. You've seen a bunch of badges you don't have. You remember, don't you? Gary had ten and most of those were different than yours, there was Otoshi who had a few you hadn't seen before, and that other guy who had eight badges whose leaders you never met," Misty couldn't remember exactly which badges the other trainers had, but she remember noticing how many badges they had that Ash didn't. "You need a badge from at least every star ranking and the total must be twenty one. Getting one of each is already fifteen points. The other three just need to add up to six so even if they are all only two star gyms you'll be fine. That's why some people need more than eight, but most challenge more gyms for the experience or practice against different types"

"Is that why Gary needed ten badges?" Ash smiled haughtily and Misty could imagine him thinking he was better than Gary because he only needed eight badges.

"No," Misty's brows furrowed in thought trying to recall which one's they were, "I'm pretty sure his badges added up to over thirty by a decent amount. I remember worrying if you could beat him because most of your badges were given to you." Misty smirked a bit at pointing out Ash was given most of his badges, she liked to make fun of him for it.

"I still made it farther than him," Ash replied indignantly.

"I know," Misty's fond smile went directly against her teasing and it calmed Ash down.

"There's food in the kitchen if you want some," Misty pointed over her shoulder knowing Ash had to be hungry, mainly because he was always hungry.

"You know me too well," Ash laughed and darted to the kitchen. Pikachu gave Misty and affectionate lick and said goodbye with an excited, "Pika" before jumping out of her arms and following Ash. It seemed they were both ready for food. Some things never changed which Misty appreciated, she went off to talk to a few more of the people who had known him as a child and had to fend off a few people that thought she was dating Ash.

It was late when the party finally came to a close, she spent most of it with Ash and they quickly fell back into the easy comfort they felt together. Their interactions were a mixture of humor, memories, their current lives, just enjoying each other's company, and a bit of teasing which was far more joking than antagonistic. It was like they hadn't been apart for so long, but eventually the time for her to leave came about. She made a point of seeing Delia before saying her final goodbyes, "I'm going to head home now, it was great to come over and spend some time with everyone. Thank you for inviting me, Delia it was really nice of you."

"No, it's far too late I can't let you go out now. You're spending the night here, I've decided and I'll have no argument," Delia said in a very motherly way and Misty found it difficult to argue. "I'll set up the guest room and then it's off to bed with you young lady," Delia smiled lightly and Misty found herself reciprocating before stifling a yawn. "Ash is already fell asleep on the couch, he was worn out from his trip," Delia indicated the sleeping teen across the room. Misty was going to be the last person to leave and sometime between her walk from the couch to find Delia Ash fell asleep where they had been sitting.

Misty admitted to herself that Ash looked cute sprawled out over the couch with Pikachu curled up on his chest, but instead of spending any more time staring she turned away and went up to the guest bedroom to help Delia before falling asleep.

* * *

**A/N**

**OK so the moment arrived they are together and now Misty is spending the night, in the guest room. I hope I did alright with their interactions and the literal Poke shipping romantic side will take a little while. In some stories they are both still ten and others their 18 or grown up, I chose to keep them at fourteen for Ash and fifteen for Misty so they're young enough to still be childish and naive about certain things, but old enough for them to start understanding their feelings, or Ash anyway, Misty already knew she had a crush on him when he was younger. So it will take time, but don't worry it'll happen. **

**I created this entire idea of different gyms being ranked and that defining the amount of money they receive. I mean look at Brock's gym it's pretty small and mainly just rock, being a rock type gym. However the cinnabar island gym is much larger and features different machines which I'm assuming cost more than boulders. I'm going by the games for that and I wanted something to explain why some gyms are so much more difficult than others. So they are ranked stronger gyms are given higher ranking and more money, weaker gyms have a lower ranking and less money however they can rise and fall. I'll explain more about that process going forward. I'm sure some of you think the idea is weird and it kind of is, but in some weird way it makes a bit of sense. I mean compare the little pool Misty had in the games to the literal teleportation pads in Sabrina's gym.**

**Sorry that was a bit of a rant to explain myself anyway thanks for reading. **

**Random things I wanted to add Jessie, James, and Meowth that's right, will be making appearances in the future, but not for a while. **

Pokemon (On hand)

-Politoad

-Staryu

-Starmie

-Seadra

-Psyduck

-Corsola

(In the Gym)

-Seaking

-Gyrados

-Tentacool

-Slowpoke

-Krabby

-Cloyster

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows

**Trivia**

**-**Delia owns a Mister Mime that she nicknamed Mimey, it does housework for her and keeps her company.

-In the episode where Pikachu refused to fight Misty said, "Pikachu, you're a Pika-pal."

-There have been many different badges shown by characters that differ from Ash's, although some people say some of the badges are the same, but look slightly different. Regardless I decided to do thirty two gyms for a few reasons.

-There is an entrance exam for the Pokemon League which Ash and team rocket failed

-Gary got ten badges

-Otoshi was a trainer who had his badges stolen by team rocket and tried to battle Ash to take his

-Otoshi had a Marowak who left him after his badges were stolen, but later returned to help him retrieve them.

-Gary lost in the top 32

-Ash lost in the top 16 to Ritchie

-Ritchie nicknames his Pokemon and puts stars on their poke balls (I'm not his biggest fan)

-Ash ends up depressed after losing to Ritchie because Charizard ignored him, Misty goes in to cheer him up and they both end up getting shocked by Pikachu

-Eventually Ash goes out to cheer on Ritchie who loses anyway, but deals with it much better than Ash making Ash realize how childish he was being.


	6. Chapter 6: The Morning After

The look of surprise on Ash's face when he finally woke up and found Misty in the kitchen enjoying pancakes was enough to make staying over worth it. "Hey, Ash you sure slept in," Misty spoke as normally as possible to make the situation even weirder for Ash.

"Misty, why are you still here? Not that I'm not happy, but I'm confused," Ash looked at her before glancing to the pancakes.

"When aren't you confused Ash?" Misty teased with a smirk looking at his somehow wilder bedhead and the rumpled clothing that he fell asleep in.

"I'm not confused all the time," Ash replied, but it looked like he realized how odd his response sounded so he just grumbled a bit.

"Really though, good morning. Now I expect you plan on demolishing the rest of these pancakes," Misty said watching him grab a plate and fork before almost literally shoveling food into his mouth. She just rolled her eyes at the display, but a small smile played on her lips.

"What do you want to do today?" Ash asked, but it was almost impossible to understand through the food in his mouth. After travelling with him for so long she learned to interpret his full mouthed speech patterns.

"I was hoping we could head over to Professor Oak's to see your Pokemon. I miss them and so do my Pokemon, I made sure to bring them with me, they'll be glad to see you again," Misty spoke in a completely normal tone devoid of food muffling her voice.

"Yeah, I was planning to visit Professor Oak to see my Pokemon anyway, so that's perfect," Ash replied his words slightly more clear as he slowed his eating down,

"You know it's gross to eat like that," Misty pointed at his full mouth.

"shworry," Somehow Ash managed to sound sarcastic around the pancakes in his mouth. Misty couldn't help laughing despite how gross it was, with Ash it seemed to suit him. She chose not to hit him, partly because she thought he might choke.

"I'm going to shower and get ready, see you later Pikachu," Misty finished her pancakes and put the plate and utensils in the dish washer. Ash responded with something completely unintelligible and Pikachu gave her a little wave followed by a "Pika."

After her shower Misty came to the realization that she didn't have any clothing so she called out, "Mrs. Ketchum," nervously she reverted back to calling Delia, Mrs. Ketchum. She was standing in the guest room in only a towel and was very aware of her predicament. She could hear Ash in the other shower down the hall so thankfully he couldn't barge in and accidentally see her.

"What's wrong, Misty?" Delia asked when Misty's head popped out of the door with the rest of her body hidden.

"I didn't exactly bring any spare clothing," Misty admitted not able to look directly at Delia. She'd been so excited to see Ash she hadn't bothered bringing any other clothes plus originally she didn't plan on staying.

"Oh dear," Delia's eyes widened slightly not having thought about that when she extended the invitation to stay the night, or more forced misty to, "Well don't worry I have plenty of spare clothing."

"Do think it'll fit?" Misty imagined herself wearing the clothing of Ash's mom and it didn't look pretty.

"I have tons of old clothing from when I was a model," Delia said offhandedly.

"You were a model?" Misty asked with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"I'll bring you some clothing," Delia didn't answer her question as if she divulged something she hadn't planned on mentioning.

Misty found herself clad in Delia's old clothing and it was far different from anything she could have expected. It was a black skirt shorter and tighter that what she usually wore and a tight long sleeved blue shirt with a slightly revealing V-neck. Misty felt awkward staring at herself and felt even more awkward because she knew that Ash's mom had dressed like this at one point.

"Misty you look great," Delia cheered when Misty came out

"Delia I look like I'm trying to be sexy or something," Misty did think she looked good, but she felt like she didn't look like herself.

"Don't worry about it, you look fine and I'm sure Ash will like it," Delia winked before setting off to the kitchen again. Misty followed wanting to ask more about her career and what that wink was for, but didn't get the chance.

When they stepped into the room Misty found Ash was already dressed and was now eating snacks in the kitchen, despite just having polished off a pile of pancakes. He started say hello, but he froze mid-word and started choking. "Ash, I thought you were supposed to turn blue when you're choking, but look at you, you're turning red." Misty didn't completely recognize the tone in Delia's voice, but she didn't seem overly worried about Ash chocking.

"Ash are you, OK?" Misty asked feeling slightly uncomfortable at Ash's stare.

"Yeah," he replied still coughing.

"Ash doesn't Misty look pretty?" Delia asked once again in an odd tone. Ash just nodded mutely his gaze still locked on Misty.

"You should tell her she looks nice, it's polite to compliment a lady," Delia told her son this time Misty did see a small smile on Delia's face.

"You look really nice Misty," Ash's tone was hoarse which Misty assumed was from the choking. She turned away to hide her blush and started walking to the back door. She almost expected him to make a joke about her not being a lady, but she was pleasantly surprised. At that point she thought the change of clothing may not have been horrible.

"I'm going to head outside for a bit, come out when you're ready to go," Misty said over her shoulder not noticing Ash's eyes following her. She stepped out the door, but she still heard Delia asking Ash what he thought of her outfit and him grumbling and mumbling.

"Come on out guys," Misty threw her Pokeballs in the air, she made sure to carry Seadra in her arms like she did when it was only a Horsea. Seadra still like to be held despite his more intense look. There was a small chorus of their voices when she released them 'Hyah," from Staryu, 'Haah', from Starmie, "Seadra-sea," From Seadra and "Poli," from Politoad. Psyduck just looked confused, "Psy-ya-ay-ay." Misty sighed at Psyduck and smiled at everyone else.

The backdoor opened only a few moments after her Pokemon came out. Politoad started cheering and clapping so she knew it was Ash before she turned around.

"Hi everyone," he greeted the Pokemon that he had been on so many adventures with.

"Pika-pi," Pikachu cheered jumping off Ash's shoulder to talk to Misty's Pokemon.

"They all look excited to see you and Pikachu," Misty looked at her Pokemon.

"How can you tell, they don't even have faces," Ash pointed to Staryu and Starmie not loud enough to be heard by the Pokemon a few feet behind Misty.

"I can tell because I'm sensitive to others emotions," Misty replied defending the emotional states of her Pokemon who were busy chattering with Pikachu in their odd language.

"I remember saying the same thing in our gym battle," Ash looked at her imagining the match and how he used Butterfree and Pidgeotto before he got most of his team.

"And I remember giving the same response," Misty remembered how silly it seemed now.

"I also remember how I won," Ash smirked at Misty who immediately frowned.

"No, I distinctly remember my sisters giving you the badge," Misty replied placing emphasis on the words 'distinctly' and 'giving'.

"Well I would have won," Ash bit back.

"No, you wouldn't have," Misty refused to give in.

"Your Starmie was already hurt it would have gotten knocked out with one more gust," Ash pointed at Starmie who just stared back without eyes once it noticed the finger pointing at it.

"Starmie knows recover just like Corsola, I would have used recover and had Starmie go back in the water so gust wouldn't be able to hit it," Misty refused to reveal that she hadn't really planned that, but she might have come up with it in the heat of battle, they would never know. Starmie agreed with a light, 'haah'.

"Fine, but if I used Pikachu I would have won anyway," Ash shrugged.

"It's not my fault you couldn't control Pikachu besides he likes me too much, right Pikachu," she looked down at her yellow friend who jumped upwards.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" He asked Pikachu a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"Pika," Pikachu replied with a shrug getting onto Misty's shoulder avoiding Seadra.

"Sometime, we need to battle to see if you really deserve that Cascade badge," Misty felt herself falling right back into the feeling of their first battle, which compared to how much that had both improved seemed a bit juvenile.

"How about now?" Ash challenged.

"It needs to be in the gym, you'll be battling to get the Cascade badge again," Misty set the place already feeling her muscles tense.

"Alright I challenge you to a battle," Ash started out intensely, but his voice tapered off as he added, "sometime in the future." Ash gave Misty his best serious battle look, but it failed somewhat when he didn't have an actual time and just had to say 'sometime in the future.'

"I accept your challenge, as Gym Leader of the Cerulean Gym I'll take you down," Misty didn't comment on his lame attempt at challenging her.

"Do you wanna go to Professor Oak's house, now?" Ash asked nonchalantly slipping right back into normalcy.

"I've been ready, we've just been waiting for you," Misty swung one arm wide gesturing to her Pokemon who gave a little chorus in agreement the other arm held Seadra close.

The walk to professor Oak's was quiet, the comfortable silence broken only by Ash pointing out different things in the town and Pikachu talking to Misty's Pokemon from its perch on her shoulder.

The first thing that happened when they first stepped into the back of the large yard was Muk trying to jump on them. Misty was extremely happy for all the working out she did at Cerulean gym because she was able to get out of the way. Looking at Ash he had seemed to put on some muscle, but he didn't have the grace Misty had.

Well in her opinion it was grace in reality she did a clumsy back handspring after Pikachu jumped away and she dropped Seadra in a nearby pond, but she was happy she didn't actually fall. She stumbled, but Ash was the only one who got caught underneath Muk. "Hi Muk," she greeted him keeping just out of his range. "Muk," he groaned back in greeting.

"Hi, Bulbasaur," she opened her arms hoping for a hug from the usually serious Pokemon who had watched the whole event and she wasn't disappointed.

"Saur, Bulbasaur," it replied hopping back out of her arms not long after it was swept into the hug.

"It's good to see you too," Misty made her rounds of the area saying hello to all the Pokemon she knew and being introduced to new ones by Ash. She allowed her own Pokemon to do as they pleased seeing old friends, Psyduck just stumbled around a bit, but even he seemed to be glad.

She hated to do it, but after only a little while she knew she needed to get back to the gym, if she wanted to improve the rank of the gym she needed to spend as much time there as possible. "Ash, I need to head home."

"Already?" He seemed disappointed at the fact that she wasn't going to be staying longer.

"I need to get back to the gym," she was as disappointed as he seemed to be, but there were more important things than hanging out with Ash now that she knew he would be around. If she helped the gym it would be better in the long run.

"Are you guys not allowed to take breaks or something?" Ash asked sounding annoyed at the entire Pokemon league over the fact that Misty wouldn't be staying.

"That's not it, you know I'm trying to improve the gym. I'll tell you about how much time a gym leader can take off later if I decide to take time off. Visit me anytime, calling ahead it probably better, but if you're in the area pop in no matter what," Misty kept herself from giving in to his puppy dog eyes, she wanted to stay, but she was resolute.

"OK, Misty," Ash sighed his whole figure dramatically slouching. Misty shook her head at the display, but was slightly pleased that he was so upset to see her go.

She ran over gave him a quick hug, said goodbye to Professor Oak and the Pokemon, and then collected her own Pokemon before stopping to thank Delia for her hospitality. She was told to come back anytime and that the door was always over.

Misty caught the first bus home and stepped into the gym happy to find it quiet. "I'm home," she called out.

"Oh, hey Misty yo-" Violet froze looking at Misty who was more than a little confused.

"What?" Misty looked around to see if there was anything wrong.

"Like, what are you wearing?' She shrieked grabbing the attention of the other two sisters who ran in asking what was wrong before also asking what she was wearing.

"What it's jus-," then Misty actually remembered what she was wearing. She hadn't thought about it once she left, but it did explain the stares she got from a few young men when she walked by. She was immediately horrified.

"I like thought you liked him, but did you go buy something cute for him? That's like so sweet and look at you, you're like a real woman. I never knew you had that kind of fashion sense," Lily looked her over walking in a full circle around her, Misty felt like a doll on display and she didn't enjoy it at all.

"No, no I just got this from his mom," Misty defended herself, although she was being complimented not made fun of.

"His mom?" It was clear Violet didn't believe her.

"Delia used to be a model so she had old clothes that she shared with me," Misty explained expecting her sisters to make fun of her.

"Wait Delia a model. A model named Delia," Daisy looked at Misty in complete shock.

"You don't mean the Delia," Violet gasped.

"Um, maybe," Misty didn't get the fascination.

"Don't move," Lily commanded her before running away and reappearing with a few old magazines. "Is that her?"

"It looks like her just younger," Misty confirmed looking closely at the cover which did feature a younger version of Ash's mother. Misty always thought Ash's mother was beautiful, but she never expected her to be such a popular model, much less someone her sisters' knew of.

"Oh my god," Violet screeched like a banshee and Misty barely resisted covering her ears.

"I don't get it," Misty looked back and forth between her sisters who were all far more excited that Misty had seen them in a while.

"She was like our inspiration for modeling," Daisy explained shaking the magazine.

"Really?" Misty raised an eyebrow, somehow her life was tied even further into the Ketchum's than she thought and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"When we were young we totally looked up to her, but she like totally disappeared one day," Violet continued.

"Nobody knew what happened, we have to meet her," Lily finished.

"You could come with me the next time I visit Ash," Misty said almost as a question.

"Wait, Ash. You need to date him," Violet said it like it was now a fact that she needed to be in a relationship with Ash.

"No, you need to like marry him," Lily continued making it even more extreme.

"What, Why?" Misty was trying to absorb all the information.

"Then she'd be our in law, plus his mom is a model so he's probably going to end up really hot," Lily said like Misty was the crazy one for not getting it.

"You're so lucky you get to wear her clothes and she has like great taste. You look sensational," Daisy complimented her. Calling someone sensational was the highest praise they offered, but Misty was past the point of being happy at the compliment.

"Right," Misty stretched out the word and realized that now her sisters were backing her entering a relationship with Ash. "I need to reopen the gym so I'll fill you in later," Misty backed away and opened the gym desperately trying to escape their harassment. She spent the day taking on challengers and in between matches dealing with her sisters. After her first battle started off with a guy openly staring at her she made sure to change.

**A/N**

**Ok another chapter down, I feel like this one is a bit shorter than usual, but I had to make a cut-off point and this was the best place. As I said everything I say has some place in some form of continuity in the franchise so read the trivia and it will give an explanation to Delia's past. Also I'm not sure if Delia and the Sensational Sisters have ever met, they probably did off screen at some point, but I'm going to assume or pretend they haven't. **

Pokemon in Gym

-Politoad

-Staryu

-Starmie

-Seadra

-Psyduck

-Corsola

-Seaking

-Gyrados

-Tentacool

-Slowpoke

-Krabby

-Cloyster

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows

**Trivia**

-Delia had dreamed of becoming a model when she was younger (So I decided that she achieved that dream)

-Delia also dreamed of being a Pokemon trainer (I may or may not work with that later)

-Delia and Ash have always been voiced by the same person in the English Dub

-Delia was once a student of professor Oak along with Spencer Hale (Check the third movie Spell of the Unknown: Entei if you don't know who that is)

-Entei kidnaps Delia to be a mother for Molly Hale who he becomes a father for when her father Spencer vanishes due to the unknown. (Once again check the third movie)

-According to Bulbapedia, which is my general go-to for info/fact checking, in the novel she is 29, but another source said 35. I'm going with 33 which is her originally being 29, but in my world people have the ability to age and four years have passed.

-Meaning she had Ash at nineteen so that is when she disappeared from modeling and starting working in the restaurant she now owns.

-I included more dialogue from Ash and Misty's gym battle where he pointed out Staryu doesn't have a face when Misty said it looked like it was in pain. Misty claimed she was sensitive to others emotions.

-Muk was Ash's ninth Pokemon in Kanto, but he sent it to Professor Oak because it smelled terrible. Apparently the odor went away because nobody reacted to it later.

-It tends to glomp people, literally anyone it doesn't care if they're Ash or Team Rocket. The Pokemon likes hugs.

-I did completely make up that the sisters were inspired by Delia


	7. Chapter 7: One Week

**Hello People, thank you for everyone who is reading/has been reading it means a lot. Now here is the seventh chapter and it is finally going to set up for Ash and Misty getting to spend a good amount of time together.**

**Please Enjoy, **

**Chapter 7**

Misty threw herself into her work and trained as hard as possible without hurting her Pokemon or herself. Luckily her Pokemon were all happy to train except Psyduck, but she was still doing her best to teach him to swim, it wasn't going well.

She'd been battling like her life depended on it and among the dozens of challengers she only lost twice. Both of them had been extremely talented and were getting their seventh and eight badges respectively so she handed the badges over without complaint. They were quite nice so she was hoping to see them in the Indigo Conference if she made it.

There was only a week until the gym was going to be assessed and she was making progress, but Misty didn't know if it was enough. She was exhausted, but made sure not to overwork her Pokemon and focused on only certain ones at a time so they were still feelings fresh. Taylor had come back a few times to learn from her and Misty felt it was a welcome break and it felt nice to mentor her. She promised to take her fishing soon, but not until she'd dealt with the Gym assessment and found out her ranking. She kept in contact with her friends over the video phone, but rarely left the gym. It was nice to finally be able to talk to Ash now that he was staying in the same area rather than running around the world.

She had just finished up a decent match against a boy who was visiting family, but heard about the Gym and wanted to face the Leader. She was unexpectedly proud when he mentioned she was too tough to be a three star gym.

She was closing everything when she saw Slowpoke fishing in the main pool again and it wasn't too surprising that he caught something, there was once golden that liked to bite him. However she was surprised when Slowpoke had a Shellder on his tail and he was standing bipedal. She watched Shellder mutate and suddenly she was staring at a Slowbro.

"You evolved," She wrapped the Pokemon in a hug making sure not to prick herself on the mutated Shellder.

"Slow," Slowbro seemed to be taking a moment to realize it had indeed evolved. "Slow," he nodded although Misty wasn't sure what exactly he was actually nodding for. She let him go back outside to sleep, happy that she had another powerful Pokemon. Slowpoke wasn't much of a fighter by no real fault of his own, but if she managed to train Slowbro he had a good amount of potential.

As she walked to her bedroom she realized she had a lot of Pokemon that could use psychic moves: Starmie, Slowbro, Psyduck if it was hit hard enough, and Staryu to a lesser degree than Starmie.

She woke up and went outside to make sure she didn't dream about Slowbro, but he was there having a staring contest with Psyduck. "Misty another challenger," Violet called from inside.

"Coming," she yelled back. "And you are coming with me," she turned and returned Slowbro to its Pokeball.

It was a boy a little bit older than her, "My name is Sam and I'm here to challenge you." He was being a bit formal which Misty thought might mean he hadn't had much experience.

"I accept, how many badges do you have so far?" Misty asked gauging how tough he would be. She wanted to try Slowbro out, but if he was a strong trainer she knew she would have to be more careful.

"Three," he revealed his three badges one of which was from a one star gym, one was from a two star gym, and the third was from a three star gym.

She debated what Pokemon to use in her head, "Is a three on three OK for you?"

"Sure," Sam replied already looking down at his belt.

If it was three on three she could try Slowbro out first and if things didn't go well she could use two of her strongest Pokemon to make up for the damage. This guy wasn't going to be a push over, but she was hoping he wouldn't be too tough.

They walked to opposite ends of the pool and the battle began. "Slowbro, let's do it," Misty released Slowbro onto the closest platform.

At the same time he called out, "Floatzel let's show her what we've got." She watched surprised at the Sinnoh Pokemon appeared on the other end of the pool. It wasn't very uncommon for trainers to use Pokemon from different regions, but generally she faced Kanto Pokemon. Still she wasn't about to let him knock her off balance over something like that.

"Floatzel use water gun," Floatzel quickly shot out a burst of water. Misty decided to put Slowbro's power to the test.

"Slowbro use water gun as well," Slowbro was slower, but at the last second managed to counter. Slowbro's attack seemed to be a bit weaker, but both Pokemon stopped before either was completely overpowered. "Slowbro use confusion," Slowbro complied sending the telekinetic attack at Floatzel who was knocked into the water.

"That's fine hide under water," Floatzel sunk out of sight.

"Slowbro, don't move just wait until I tell you too," Misty commanded and Slowbro seemed happy to comply. Misty closed her eyes listening as closely as she could, after spending so much time by the pool she could hear any noises out of place.

"Floatzel take down," Sam said to the hidden Pokemon.

Misty waited until she heard the noise of Floatzel moving, "Slowbro turn to your right," Misty called out.

Slowbro slowly turned and Misty was secretly happy it could tell left from right, unlike Psyduck who sometimes got confused. Floatzel shot out of the water quickly, which was its undoing it didn't have time to redirect itself before crashing into the spikes on Slowbro's tail. "Quickly Slowbro mega punch," Misty yelled and Slowbro punched just before Floatzel could recover and get back into the water. While Floatzel was in the air Misty commanded, "Hit it with psychic, Slowbro."

Floatzel ended up in the water across the arena, "Get up, Floatzel we're not done yet," Misty watched the Pokemon pull itself onto a platform without too much trouble. "Hop back into the water and use agility to swim in a circle around the platform Slowbro is on." Within a few seconds Floatzel was just a blur basically kicking up a whirlpool around Slowbro and despite a few attempts with confusion and water gun Slowbro couldn't hit it.

"Just wait him out Slowbro and be ready to react when I say so," Misty tried to follow Floatzel, but the water it had kicked up made seeing it difficult which Misty assumed the plan was.

"Use crunch," Misty heard the other trainer call out. Crunch was a dark move which was going to be super effective on Slowbro so she couldn't let it connect.

"Use disable," Misty watched as Floatzel shot out of the water thankfully directly in front of Slowbro. Suddenly it was surrounded in a grey light for a few moments and it lost control of its attack. Its momentum didn't stop and it continued to head towards Slowbro. "Now use mega kick," Misty ordered just as Floatzel flew into range. Slowbro's foot connected sending launching Floatzel away. Although it was very similar to her previous combo it was still effective.

Floatzel sailed across the arena landing hard on the platform closest to the other trainer. "Nice try Floatzel you did your best," the trainer slipped the pokeball back into its place. "Wow that's a pretty nice Slowbro," the boy looked at Slowbro who blankly stared back.

Misty looked fondly at the hermit crab Pokemon, "Yeah he only evolved recently, but I love him as much as all my other Pokemon."

"I guess I shouldn't have tried using a water Pokemon against a water Pokemon trainer," he grabbed another pokeball.

"Well it's my home ground and water is my specialty so I guess there's always a risk trying to use my type against me here, but still I liked your Floatzel, a good friend of mine actually has a Buizel."

"Thanks, but now it's back to the battle, let's do this Machoke," the boy held out a pokeball and a Machoke appeared quickly getting into a battle stance.

"Hmm, Slowbro we've got the type advantage let's keep him at a distance," Misty looked at the Machoke carefully.

"Machoke we need to get in close, starting running," the boy pointed across the room at Slowbro and immediately Machoke started jumping from platform to platform.

"Use confusion," Misty said to Slowbro who did as she asked and after a few failed attempts managed to send Machoke sprawling into the water. Although it fell into the water the damage done was pretty low.

"Just swim there," apparently the Machoke knew how to swim because with its powerful arms it started flying through the water.

"Mega Punch," the boy and Misty called as Machoke jumped out of the water. Both Pokemon pulled their arms back and punched the other. Machoke was knocked back a few steps and was hurt, but not finished. Slowbro fell into the water and looked dazed, more than usual.

"Use thunderpunch before it gets out of the water," the boy yelled and Machoke complied punching at Slowbro who was struggling to get out of the water. The attack connected sending waves of electric energy coursing through its body enhanced by the water it was in.

"Use Psychic," Misty called out hoping to get Machoke away from Slowbro and moments later Machoke was flying through the air. Misty knew Slowbro was a Pokemon that could take a lot of damage, but she figured there wasn't much point allowing it to get hurt further in its first battle when she was confident could finish this with another Pokemon.

"Alright Slowbro, return," Misty held her Pokeball out and Slowbro disappeared. "Great job, your first fight in your evolved form and you took out his first Pokemon and damaged his second."

"Starmie," Misty called Starmie out and it appeared with a gentle 'haah'. She figured she should capitalize on the type advantage and use another Psychic Pokemon, "Let's get some distance swim to the farthest platform."

"Machoke follow it," Machoke shook off the damage it took and jumped into the water chasing after Starmie, who was much faster.

"Starmie use swift to slow it down," Stars flew smashing into Machoke as it tried to swim to Starmie.

"Just power through," Sam commanded and Machoke managed to push through the attack.

"Fine use confusion and follow it up with hydro pump," Misty watched as Machoke was hit with yet another psychic attack and then smashed with a powerful water attack. Sam was forced to withdraw the unconscious Pokemon, but Misty noted that both his Pokemon so far seemed to be able to take a lot of damage.

"Alright I can't use a close range fighter, so how about someone who can give me some distance. Fearow let's take her out," Sam tossed his third Pokeball into the air and a Fearow appeared flying overhead.

Misty eyed it for a moment before deciding to test how fast it was, she knew if she got it into the water she would win, "Starmie use water gun."

"Fearow dodge it and use gust," The Fearow easily slid around the attack and with a few flaps of its wings it stirred up a gust of wind which was sent directly at Starmie.

"Starmie into the water quick," Misty didn't want Starmie to get caught.

The gust caught Starmie as it was already half way into the pool so it didn't go flying, but it skipped across the surface of the pool before it made it under doing a bit of damage. Misty waited a few moments before yelling, "Starmie come out of the water and use swift." Starmie popped out of the water before letting loose a flurry of stars.

"Use whirlwind," once again some strong flaps of Fearow's wings kicked up wind which knocked away the swift attack.

After trading a few attacks back and forth very little damage had been done, almost everything had been blocked or dodged by one Pokemon or the other. Sam apparently started becoming a bit impatient which was dangerous in a trainer, "Use quick attack and hit Starmie."

Starmie tried using water gun, but Fearow dodged everything and when it was only a few feet away Misty yelled, "Use Psychic now that it's too close to dodge."

Misty waited just a second too long and Starmie was hit, but its attack still connected. They both went flying Fearow hitting the ceiling and Starmie crashing into the wall.

"Shake it off Fearow," Sam said to the bird Pokemon who looked a bit worse for the wear.

Starmie's gem was blinking signifying that it was injured, "Use recover," Misty quickly decided.

"Use drill peck before it can recover," Fearow once again was flying at Starmie.

Starmie was against the wall and by the time it finished recovering, trying to get to the water would just put it closer. However since it was away from the water Misty gained one advantage.

"Starmie now that there isn't any water to conduct electricity use thunderbolt," Misty smiled.

The attack hit Fearow just as it collided with Starmie sending Starmie against the wall knocked out and Fearow twitching on the ground passed out as well.

The judge on the sidelines declared Misty the winner considering she still had one Pokemon left. After talking to her opponent for a minute and wishing him good luck in the future she was ready to head to the pools to take a morning swim.

"Wow Misty you really would have beaten me if our fight continued," a familiar voice called from somewhere by the bleachers.

Misty tried not to show her surprise despite wanting to jump and tried to sound casual, "Ash I didn't know you were there," Misty walked over to him recalling Starmie and promising it a good rest. Pikachu appeared on Ash's shoulder and quickly jumped to Misty who caught the little Pokemon. "Hello to you too Pikachu," she greeted the mouse petting it.

"Pika," replied in what Misty assumed was was a greeting.

"I didn't want to distract you while you were battling," Ash shrugged, "I didn't know Starmie knew thunderbolt, but I'm glad it did, I never really liked Fearows and of course I wanted you to win. If you had done that little bit at the end against me, you probably would have won. So I guess I really didn't earn that Cascade badge," Ash didn't sound remotely upset, but Misty still felt the need to comfort him slightly.

"Starmie didn't know thunderbolt back then so it would have been anyone's game," Misty placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Still you really did get lucky a lot," Misty teased him slightly. She refrained from telling him that she taught Starmie thunderbolt specifically because of their battle. She didn't want Ash to get a big head, well a bigger head anyway.

"Whatever," he sighed before asking, "Is it just me or this place bigger?" Ash asked looking around carefully, Pikachu followed his gaze around the room.

"No, it's not just you we've been doing some updates the arena was expanded a bit and our tanks are much bigger." Misty looked in the direction of the tanks.

"Really?" Ash asked continuing to look around the room where they once fought.

"Yeah, come with me I'll show you around," Misty had a moment where she wanted to grab his hand, but the thought passed and she led the way without touching him. Pikachu rested comfortably on her shoulder and Ash trailed behind her closely.

After showing Ash around and enjoying watching his excitement at every new thing he saw, Misty finally brought him back to the living area to sit down. "So are you planning on staying here for a little while or were you just visiting for the day?" Misty asked trying not to sound too eager to have him stay longer.

"I can stay over?" He asked Pikachu jumped back over to Ash and shot Misty what she could only assume were pleading eyes.

"My sisters won't mind," Misty remembered their new plan for her to marry Ash, "plus we have tons of rooms and I'd love to have someone to train with and hang out with. I'm going to be stuck in here for the next week until the gym is finally assessed.

"OK then how about we stay until the assessment is over?" Ash looked at her carefully as if he expected her to say 'no'.

"That would be great," Misty didn't bother to hide her excitement and Ash met her smile with a bright grin of his own.

"I'll just ask my mom, but I think she should be fine with it. She really likes you," Ash said already getting out of his seat.

* * *

**Ash P.O.V**

Ash walked over to the videophone near the kitchen and dialed his home, within seconds his mother's face popped up with Mimey sweeping behind her.

"Hi, mom," Ash greeted her.

"Did you make it to the gym safely?" She asked trying to look behind him to see where he was.

"Yeah, I'm calling you from the gym," Ash explained.

"Oh, good," she noticeably relaxed. It didn't matter that he wasn't a ten year old anymore she still worried about him.

"I was wondering if I could stay over for about a week. The Pokemon League is sending some people to assess the gym and I wanted to stay with Misty. She can't really leave so I was planning on keeping her company.

"Of course," Delia replied without asking any questions, which surprised Ash. Usually she would want to bombard him with questions about where he was going to be.

"Really? That's great," Ash smiled. His next thought was interrupted by a knocking on the door at his home.

Delia glanced at the door before turning back to Ash, "Sorry, sweetie I have to go I have company coming over. Good luck with Misty."

"What does good luck mean?" Ash asked himself quietly before running to tell Misty the good news.

* * *

**Misty POV**

Her sisters gave it a stamp of approval and Lily offered to make plans to force them to be together. Misty quickly declined, she knew she still had a small lingering crush on Ash, but she figured she'd be able to sort out her feelings without any help. Beyond that Ash's feelings were still a mystery to her and she wasn't sure he was interested in dating anyone, let alone her. The boy was probably too focused on Pokemon to even notice girls yet. She wasn't ready to throw their friendship into disarray based on some distant hope that he could like her.

By the time Ash returned she had finished up her next match, it had been a one on one with an inexperienced trainer. "Aww I wanted to see another battle," he complained only looking half serious.

"You'll get your chance tomorrow, it's rare that I don't get at least a few battles each day, normally it's much more," Misty assured him and she was actually happy that he'd get to watch her, rather than nervous.

"Great I want to see you in action some more after all this time," Ash flashed her another one of his huge grins that always made her smile along with him.

"I'll have you know I've improved greatly," Misty informed him twirling the Pokeball in her hand.

"So have I," Ash jumped onto the defensive.

"I don't doubt that," Misty gave him a soft smile and Ash relaxed immediately," I'm going to switch Pokemon, Slowbro and Starmie are tired. I'll be back in a minute."

* * *

**Ash POV**

Ash was really impressed with Misty, how she was able to run an entire Gym amazed him. He knew he wouldn't be able to do it, but he was still confident he could beat her in a full battle. She was really skilled with Water Pokemon, but she was too used to fighting in her Gym and she didn't have enough variety.

If he took her on somewhere else without water she would have to change her fighting style, he didn't think she'd be able to adapt as well as he could to a new area. He thought about her Goldeen, now a Seaking, and how useless it was on land.

Of course he admitted he could be wrong, this was her element, but maybe she'd be fine elsewhere, she'd always managed when they were younger. He wanted to find out, but for now he was happy to spend time with her. Plus she did put on some exciting matches and it was good to train with her sometimes, he didn't fight too many water trainers during his travels.

If she went out and got more Pokemon she could probably overcome those weaknesses, but for the time being she was under house arrest in a way. He was going to use that to his advantage to spend as much time with her as possible. Seeing her at the party and finally having her in front of him somehow made him realize he missed her even more.

**Pokemon in Gym**

-Politoad

-Staryu

-Starmie

-Seadra

-Psyduck

-Corsola

-Seaking

-Gyrados

-Tentacool

-Slowpoke à Slowbro

-Krabby

-Cloyster

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows

**Trivia**

-When Ash and Misty fought Pidgeotto knocked Starmie into the wall and left its core jewel blinking, meaning it was hurt.

-In the games Slowpoke evolves into Slowbro at level 37, but everywhere else it evolves when a Shellder bites on its tail so I decided to go along with that. Shellder mutates and continuously poisons Slowbro taking away its ability to feel pain.

-Misty's Goldeen was always useless when it got sent out on land, mainly because it couldn't walk, which isn't a shocker.

-I'm pretty sure I already mentioned it, but Starmie can learn Thunderbolt by TM

-If a Pokemon can learn a move by tutoring/TM or breeding it may show up. I won't just start giving random moves out to Pokemon, but if a Pokemon can learn a move I may have them know the move.

-I'm sure everyone knows this, but in the very beginning of the anime Pikachu wouldn't listen to Ash at all. So in his attempt to capture a Pidgey by himself he throws a rock at a Spearow thinking it was a Pidgey. An entire flock of Spearow attack them. (If I try to keep explaining this trivia will become too long.)

-That was how he met Misty when she fished him out of the water when he was running from the Spearow and Pikachu was injured.

-Although to counter that in the Electric Tales of Pikachu, Ash actually owns a Fearow who he uses regularly. Since this follows the anime, Ash does not own a Fearow.

**A/N**

**Thank you everyone for reading the story so far and I hope you continue to do so. Please let me known in the comments what you think so far and what you think I should do going forward. Also while Ash and Misty are together I think I may add a small section of what Pokemon are with Ash like I do for Misty, let me know what you think (I won't include an entire section on which Pokemon are with Professor Oak because that would be too much.) Also this story will spend the majority of time in Misty's point of view, but I do plan on switching to other characters for short periods of time like I did for Ash.**


	8. Chapter 8: Assessment

**Hello everyone, thank you to everyone who has been reading and commenting on this story. I feel warm inside like a charmander's warm tail is burning in my soul (or something). This chapter is going to be longer than my others, just to let you know.**

**Anyway please enjoy,**

POV (Misty)

The week passed in a blur and suddenly the first day of assessment arrived. It was over the course of four days. For three days a different judge would come and view the gym. The first was to check the facilities, the second her Pokemon, and the third would see how she was able to work with her Pokemon. She was happy her Krabby evolved the other day, it was still extremely affectionate, but now it was also extremely powerful. Ash of course made a point of mentioning he got a Kingler first and she made a point of shoving him in the pool.

Misty considered herself a confident person, but she knew it was unlikely she would actually attain the rank of a four star gym. Not because of a lack of talent, but purely based on experience. It looked like she was patiently waiting at the door, but she was practically jumping out of her shoes until an older gentleman walked in and introduced himself, "Hello, you are Miss Waterflower Correct?"

"Yes, I'm Misty Waterflower the other three Miss Waterflowers are busy doing nothing related to the gym," she joked slightly and shook his hand firmly. He wore an expensive looking suit and a hat, but Misty assumed his hair was white the same color as his large, but groomed mustache.

Luckily the man smiled lightly," Alright please show me the facilities," the man stretched his arm out indicating that Misty should lead him. She spent a while showing him the areas and explaining what everything was. He seemed particularly impressed by the indoor lake and the outdoor area it connected to. He spent a good portion of the time checking the salt levels and temperature in the various pools, the size, the materials used, and everything else Misty had been painstakingly checking for herself over the past few weeks.

"Now please open the Gym and we will see if you receive any challengers," he walked back to the main lobby and sat down, the picture of calm, looking through the papers he brought with him and began filling forms out. Misty thought things were going alright, but she couldn't read him and nobody had come yet to take her on.

She also was very aware of her shadow, Ash. He had been tailing them the entire time the inspector had been in the Gym. It simultaneously relaxed her and made her more anxious, she wasn't sure which was more prevalent.

Over the course of his visit a few trainers came, but they were all inexperienced and really didn't say anything about her fighting skills when she won. The day came to an end and all he asked for was print outs of the data compiled each time a trainer swiped their Id and the print outs of her bills. She knew the league had access to anything she did, but she could tell they wanted to see how on top of things she was.

She led him into her small, but neat office and gave him everything he asked for. He left with a small thank you and promised the next assessor would arrive in the morning. Once again Misty believed things went well, but unfortunately having things go well wasn't enough

The next morning a Nurse Joy arrived and she focused more on Misty's Pokemon and their health, which Misty always made sure was impeccable. She also looked over the living conditions of the Pokemon and checked her files for food orders, cleaning services, and any other things that could apply to how she took care of her Pokemon.

The inspection ended with Misty showing her the incubation room for the Pokemon eggs. There weren't many eggs and most of them were Goldeen and Horsea eggs, but Dewgong had an egg, as well as an egg laid by Luverin. The incubation room had a pool in the center connected to the main pool so the Pokemon could visit their eggs, but the eggs themselves were kept in special cases which lined the walls.

Like the other inspector she also watched any challengers, luckily this time Misty faced a few trainers who were actually worth watching. Before she left she gave Misty a medical exam to make sure she was in fit shape. Once again Ash tailed them and once again the assessor left without any indication of what she thought.

The final assessor was a young man who seemed very intense, his wild black hair was streak with red and he had an array of rings through his ears and lip. She could also see the beginnings of a tattoo peeking out from the area above the collar of his black shirt. His height and lithe muscles didn't help make him seem any more approachable, but Misty was raised not to judge a book by its cover so she tried not to judge him prematurely, the Pokemon league trusted him so Misty didn't have a right not to. He didn't talk much and looked over her Pokemon with sharp eyes.

Eventually he asked her to show him some of the skills of her Pokemon. He was checking the strength of her Pokemon as well as how talented she was at using them. She gathered most of her battlers pointedly excluding Psyduck and prepped them for his trials.

He tested her by ordering her to do different tasks or demonstrating her Pokemons' skills. He was looking at how effectively she was able to use them, randomly forcing her to switch between Pokemon. He too watched her battle challengers and he told her he would be back with the other two assessors the next day to make their final decision.

Misty basically collapsed into bed exhausted from the last three days, but she was too nervous to actually sleep. She knew her sisters and Ash could tell how stressed she was so they left her alone and when they spent time with her they were extra accommodating. Her sisters were also aware that this affected them so they stayed out of the way of the assessors so they wouldn't make the Gym look bad and made an effort to keep things in order.

The day finally came and the three assessors finally arrived, Misty led them to her living room to talk.

"We've observed you and your Gym and we would like to discuss both with you before we tell you our decision," Nurse Joy explained.

The first assessor began, "The facilities are in great condition, the Gym is up to all regulations and you haven't gotten into any legal or financial trouble over the year." Misty had made sure the gym wasn't involved in any scandals so she didn't cut any corners and followed the rules to the book.

Nurse Joy spoke next, "Obviously you love your Pokemon and they have all been cared for perfectly, they're both happy and healthy. Which is something I'm glad for, we have come across gyms where the Pokemon are mistreated and as a nurse that's something I find very important." Misty almost couldn't imagine mistreating her Pokemon, aside from Psyduck who occasionally got some tough love, but even then he was always kept healthy.

The third assessor spoke last, "You're Pokemon trust you and from what I've seen you are able to wield them efficiently when given an objective. They seem strong, battle ready, and you have a decent array of Pokemon to use."

The first assessor spoke again, "According to the battle records you've kept which we have confirmed, you have done very well. However one problem exists," Misty felt her heart drop the moment she heard problem.

"Although you have a great record despite a few blotches while your sisters were in charge which we also confirmed, you haven't faced enough difficult trainers, nor do you have the necessary experience. Facing weak trainers and winning just means you are able to handle weak opponents. You are operating on the level of a three star gym, albeit a powerful one. Which means obviously you aren't going to be downgraded, but we can't move you up a rank either," he paused for a moment, but continued in a kinder voice, "You are one of the youngest gym leaders in Kanto and beyond that you are operating with next to no guidance. That alone speaks volumes about you, but you're still a teenager who has only been in charge for a few years. If you were older and had been running the gym for a bit longer, we may have come to a different conclusion."

Nurse Joy cut in, "If you continue to hold a similar record next year we may reconsider because it isn't completely your fault you are only beginning to get powerful challengers, it's because you are considered a three star gym and still have a slight stigma from a few years back hanging over you. Eventually we may give you a four star ranking for six months and watch how you handle it and from there we will make another decision."

The third man, despite his looks, consoled her because it must have been obvious how broken she felt, "Your rise from a gym on the verge of closing down to a three star Gym over two years has been meteoric, but moving to a four star gym takes time. Even doing it in two years is very rare, getting your name out there and becoming a gym that people wait to challenge or want to challenge takes time. You're on the edge, but you didn't have anything to push you over. We take everything into account and it just isn't time yet, you're very talented, but it's too soon. Even if your record had been better we still most likely wouldn't have made you a four star gym purely because you haven't been doing this for long enough. "

Misty sighed, but understood their reasoning and wasn't going to try to fight them.

"You don't need to feel upset about not increasing you rank, it isn't a problem that it will take more time just keep working hard," the older man looked at her.

"To be honest aside from wanting to make this gym the best it can be, I also wanted to be able to enter the Regional Championship this year," Misty explained, but quickly added, "However I do understand and I'm grateful for all of your praise."

Misty got an idea which if the assessors allowed could work, "What if I challenge a very strong trainer in front of you so you can watch and see my full abilities. I know you mentioned that I didn't face enough difficult trainers so I couldn't show the extent of my skill."

"I'm sorry assessment only lasts four days and randomly finding a trainer with high enough capabilities isn't going to be likely," the first man replied apologetically.

"What if I had one outside this door?" Misty smiled despite being upset only moments before.

"I don't follow," Nurse Joy looked at her confused.

"You know Ash Ketchum, right?" Misty asked.

"Let's see he participated in the Indigo League a few years ago, if memory serves me and has competed and done well in a few more regional tournaments since, correct?" The older gentleman asked. The Pokemon League keeps data from every trainer around the world and each region's officials are required to keep up to date on any talented trainers from within their region.

"He's here right now visiting, what if we did a full battle right here, right now so you could watch me? Would that be enough?" Misty asked trying not to sound desperate.

"Can you give us a moment in private please?" the third man asked looking between the other two seated next to him.

"Of course," Misty hoped it would work out stepped out the door to find Ash and her sisters squatting next to the door.

"You want to battle, Misty? Er, I mean what happened in there," Ash was never a particularly good liar and Misty was well aware of that. Her sisters didn't even bother to defend themselves.

"Shut up, I know you were eaves dropping, anyway if they say yes I need you to battle me full out. Don't go easy on me, they'll know and if I lose so be it, but they need to see us fighting our hardest," Misty looked at Ash as seriously as she could.

Ash shrugged, "All right, I've been wanting to fight you anyway."

The entire group waited a few minutes with very little being said and they all jumped when the door opened again. "We've decided we will allow you to fight," Nurse Joy spoke first, "but it doesn't mean we are going to increase your rank whether you win or lose."

"That's fine, we've been looking forward to this anyway," Ash smiled the look that only came before a battle appeared in his eyes.

"Go choose your teams," the intense young man told them.

"Ash, we have a transfer machine in the back you can get any Pokemon you need from Professor Oak I'll go to the pools to get my team," Misty pointed in the direction Ash needed to go in.

Misty stood by the lake looking trying to imagine what team Ash could use and which team she should use. Ash was somewhat unpredictable so she would have to try to cover her bases. Starmie and Staryu were predictable and he'd seen them battle and fought them both in the Gym. Slowbro he hadn't seen her use often so he would have a harder time predicting his moves, but he wasn't as well trained as some of her other Pokemon. In terms of power Gyrados was her strongest fighter, but if he fought Pikachu he was done for. Kingler was a powerhouse, but Ash owned one and would already know his skill-set. Cloyster had strong defense, but couldn't move well, Corsola was pretty adaptable so she was a good choice, but once again had the predictability factor, Tentacool was still somewhat weak, Seaking was strong, but stuck in the water. There was also Seadra, but he faced the same difficulty as Seaking.

She went through the other choices she had and figured out her team. They had all gotten stronger and learned new things Ash hadn't seen, like Starmie's thunderbolt came out of the blue for him. Unless Pikachu chose not to fight again she was sure he would be on Ash's team, other than that he caught a lot of Pokemon she hadn't seen in action and only met when she visited professor Oak's lab.

She walked out the picture of confidence, but in reality she was nervous. She knew a lot was riding on this fight and she was at a disadvantage, Ash had watched her fight all week and she hadn't seen any of his new battlers in action.

* * *

"I will be the referee," the intense looking guy said sitting in the referees chair and watching Misty and Ash approach opposite sides of the pool. It was larger than the last time they fought, they were more experienced and the Pokemon they were using were different, but it seemed similar. "It will be a three on three match. You are allowed to recall Pokemon after each fight without penalty, but if you do so in battle they will be taken out."

"I'm not going to go easy on you Misty so you better watch out," Ash yelled looked down at his Pokeballs.

"As if I need you to easy on me, go Politoad," Misty tossed a Pokeball into the air and Politoad landed on the platform looking between Misty and Ash and clapping.

"Who are you cheering for?" Ash asked Politoad who didn't respond beyond his continued clapping. "Well it doesn't matter, Totodile, let's go," Ash yelled out and Totodile appeared. Misty knew Totodile would have the advantage in speed, but she considered Politoad stronger in general.

"Let's make the first move use Aqua tail, let's take him out," Ash pointed and Totodile quickly complied flying across the water kicking up water in its wake.

"Politoad wait until he gets close," Politoad waited until Totodile was closing in, "Now use hypervoice." Misty watched in satisfaction as the sound waves hit, throwing Totodile completely off balance and sending him careening past Politoad without touching.

"Use bite Totodile," Ash commanded once Totodile landed in the water and regained his balance. Totodile spun around and shot towards Politoad unhinging its jaw and showing its sharp teeth.

"Body slam before he can bite down," Misty ordered not wanting Totodile to grab on. Politoad got scratched by Totodiles teeth, but he moved with enough force to send Totodile back into the water

"Alright Totodile stay underwater for a bit and then use Ice Fang," Ash yelled to his Pokemon who disappeared from sight.

"Hold Politoad," Misty watched Ash closely. She knew him well enough to see when he was going to act, what he was going to do he already told her.

"Now, jump up high Politoad," Misty ordered and Politoad used its powerful legs to fly into the air seconds before Ash yelled,

"Use Icefang."

"Hypnosis Politoad from above," Misty screamed and they both watched as Totodile fell down to the ground stumbling back and forth.

"Try to break it, Totodile," Ash sounded worried.

"Use wake up slap, Politoad before he comes to," Politoad complied smacking Totodile with the attack which did double damage. Totodile woke up in the air and managed to flip over and land on a platform taking damage, but remaining standing.

"Totodile use water gun, try keeping some distance," Ash pointed at Politoad who was clapping again.

"Politoad take the hit and then use icebeam," Misty smirked as Politoad absorbed the water attack and healed some of its damage. Which Ash wasn't expecting, but water types were Misty's speciality and she was aware of their abilities.

"Dodge it totodile," Ash yelled and Totodile leapt out of the way avoiding the ice beam. "Use scary face," Totdile glared at Politoad who stumbled for a moment before getting back on its feet. "Now use slash."

"Use bubblebeam, try to slow it down," Misty yelled to Politoad which couldn't hit Totodile after being slowed down by scary face.

Misty watched as Totodile was able to slash Politoad before being forced to jump away from Politoad's bubblebeam. "Alright Politoad use mind reader," Misty knew with Politoad's speed lowered it was going to be difficult to follow Totodile so she wanted to take it out in a single move and with mind reader she couldn't miss.

"Totodile use superpower we have to end this quick," Ash apparently had a similar idea to Misty, but by the time the command was issued Politoad was locked on.

"Alright, time for a hydropump," Misty watched as Politoad's hydropump connected with Totodile who was already flying towards Politoad. The blast connected head on halting Totodile in mid-air before sending it sprawling. "Finish it wish icebeam," and this time icebeam connected freezing the water coating Totodile stopping it in place.

"Totodile return," Ash said a red light coating Totodile before returning to its Pokeball. "Nice job, buddy," he said to the ball before returning it to its place on his belt.

"Totodile is unable to battle Politoad is the winner," the referee waved his flag then asked, "Will you return your Pokemon?"

"Yes I will," and much like Totodile a cheering Politoad was returned to its ball.

"Ash, I study water Pokemon on my off time, you can't beat me like that," Misty yelled to him across the field. Something about the battle bothered Misty a bit, but she shrugged it off.

"Fine then I'll use something that isn't water type," Ash yelled back.

"Let's shake things up," Misty threw a Pokeball into the air and with a gentle 'haah' Starmie appeared.

"Fine Swellow it's your turn," Ash's Pokemon burst out of its ball and flew into the air. Once again a nagging feeling appeared, but this time it was more noticeable.

"Starmie use water gun," Misty watched as Swellow easily flew around the attacks.

"Swellow use gust," It easily slid around the attack and with a few flaps of its wings it stirred up a gust of wind which was sent directly at Starmie.

"Starmie dodge it, get into the water," Misty knew what would happen if Starmie got caught.

The gust just barely missed Starmie and harmlessly kicked up some small waves on the surface of the poo.

Misty waited a few moments before yelling, "Starmie use swift from under the water." A flurry of stars shot out from under the water. .

"Block it with gust," Ash yelled to the bird Pokemon who did as he asked.

The battle continued in a similar battle with most attack being blocked or dodged. Swellow had taken a bit more damage than Starmie due to Starmie slipping in and out of the water. "Swellow use double team and then agility. Start flying in a circle around the pool and use whirlwind to create a whirlpool," Ash commanded and despite the odd request his Pokemon did as he asked and it worked to an extent.

"Starmie use rapid spin with the current and then water gun in all directions," Misty yelled to her Pokemon before it could get taken by the current. Instead it used the speed of the current to enhance its rapid spin. Once it was in the air and level with the multiple Swellows it released water from each point of its star. All of the birds were hit knocking Swellow back and returning it to one, however this left Starmie in the air and completely exposed.

"Swellow use aerial ace," Ash yelled at the same time that Misty said, "Use thunderbolt."

In a scene reminiscent of another fight she was recently in both Pokemon were knocked out when they collided. Misty knew Ash could be clueless, but he generally learned from what he saw in Pokemon battles the fact that he would use a bird Pokemon against her Starmie was something he would have done years ago. Now he shouldn't have made that mistake, which bothered Misty.

Ash had only one Pokemon left and Misty had one Pokemon and her damaged Politoad. Misty was almost positive he would use Pikachu so Gyrados was out of the question with its double disadvantage.

Before she could make her choice Psyduck popped out. In battles against normal trainers they often accidentally set off Psyduck's powers, but Ash already knew not to unlock Psyducks's abilities. Misty was going to have to rely Politoad after all. All it would take was Ash throwing Psyduck off a platform and sending an attack that didn't hit its head.

"Come on out Primeape," Ash threw his third Pokeball out and Primeape stood on the platform nearest to Ash. On the surface it looked like a decent choice, but both Misty and Ash knew about Psyduck's incredible Psychic powers. If they were set off Primeapre would be in serious trouble, but once again Misty figured Ash would be careful in his attacks.

Still Misty was surprised that Primeape showed up she didn't know Ash brought it out of training. "Hi, Primeape," Misty called across the room. In response Primeape raised one hand, but quickly zeroed in on Psyduck.

"Send Psyduck into the wall," Ash said and Primeape ran over full speed and with a single punch sent Psyduck flying across the room headfirst into the wall. Ash didn't seem remotely surprised when Psyduck stood up its eyes glowing blue.

Misty decieded to pretend she wasn't surprised and quickly told Psyduck, "Lift Primeape into the air with confusion and then use psychic to hit him." Now that Psyduck was able to focus he followed Misty's orders and in a few moments Primeape was surrounded in blue light floating in the air struggling to get free. Then the psychic attack struck sending Primape into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

"Primeape use thunderpunch let's take that Psyduck in one attack," Primapre jumped from platform to platform with ease and Misty was impressed with its speed and agility.

It dodged a few confusion attacks from Psyduck, but once it was about to strike Misty called out, "Use disable." Primeape glowed gray for a second and landed next to Psyduck without connecting. "Psyduck again confusion followed by Psychic," Misty watched at the combo struck again this time sending Primape into the air, hitting the ceiling before crashing into the water.

"Primeape is unable to battle, Misty is the winner," the referee raised his flag again and Misty jumped on the platform to hug Psyduck at the same time Ash returned Primeape.

"Good job Psyduck, you did it," Misty cheered

"Psy?" It cocked its head and Misty returned it before the assessors could see its normal personality.

Misty decided to push away her suspicion about Ash and ask him later, now she needed to talk to the Gym assessors.

"That was a great battle, both of you," Nurse Joy said as Misty walked up to her.

"So has this battle affected your decision?" Misty asked trying not to sound too hopeful.

"We have some talking to do and we need to contact the Pokemon League, but either way our decision will be mailed to you in a week.

"Thank you very much," said her goodbyes and once they were out of sight she ran and hugged Ash followed by a slap.

"Ow, what was that for?" He asked rubbing the side of his face.

"The hug was for the battle and because I think I have a good shot. The slap was because we both know you went easy on me," She crossed her arms in annoyance.

"You noticed," Ash stated rather than asked.

"It was obvious when you sent out Swellow even though you saw Starmie face Fearow. You already knew about Starmie's thunderbolt and you still walked right into it. Plus you punched Psyduck into a wall setting off his Psychic powers, by now you know how Psyduck's powers operate," Misty's expression flickered between thankful and angry.

"Well I fought as hard as I could with Totodile and Swellow until I 'accidentally' got hit by your thunderbolt, but Primeape was really a bad choice," Ash admitted. "It wasn't that I wasn't trying, I just chose the wrong Pokemon on purpose for my second and third choices," Ash shrugged. "So I fought my hardest I just set myself up to fail, but I really did think I had a chance with Totodile," Ash frowned.

"I told you to do your best and you didn't, if they noticed they would have thought I told you to go easy on me. That would have ruined my integrity and made it look like I planned the whole thing. I mean seriously I ask them to let me battle a guy who happens to be in my house and they think he's going easy on me, what does that say about me?

"I'm sorry Misty I thought I was helping," Ash looked at her earnestly.

"That's sweet, but when I tell you to battle me I mean it, I rather lose than win because you weren't trying. If you ever do that again I won't be as nice as I am now," Misty gave him a hard look because it was insulting to know that Ash wouldn't fight her head on.

"If it were any other time I would have beaten you without a thought, so don't worry next time we battle I'll destroy you," Ash smirked.

"Whatever you say," Misty rolled her eyes, "but now I have some time free, the gym can't be active until a decision is made about their status and after the status is made I get two weeks of." Misty stretched her arms above her head finally ready for some time to relax after working so hard.

"Why?" Ash looked confused.

"Well let's say someone faces me when I'm a three star and then a few days later they find out I'm a four star, they'll probably feel cheated," Misty explained, "So I need to take some time off so people don't get too upset."

"That actually makes sense," Ash admitted. "Now that you have some free time do you want to go to Pewter to see Brock?"

"Oh my God, with everything going on I completely forgot to visit him, let me grab some stuff and we'll set off immediately," Misty suddenly got her second wind and was about to run out the door, but Ash interrupted her.

"It's late why don't we sleep," Ash's shoulders slumped.

Misty stifled a yawn, "OK we'll set off immediately after some sleep."

"And breakfast," Ash added.

"And breakfast," Misty amended. She walked up to her room and collapsed into bed. With all of her stress gone Misty fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

* * *

**Pokemon in Gym**

-Politoad

-Staryu

-Starmie

-Seadra

-Psyduck

-Corsola

-Seaking

-Gyrados

-Tentacool

-Slowbro

-Krabby à Kingler

-Cloyster

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows

**Ash's Pokemon on hand**

-Pikachu

-Totodile

-Swellow

-Primeape

-?

-?

**With Professor Oak**

**-(I don't have the patience to write them all down right now)**

* * *

**A/N**

**I hope you enjoyed their battle, let me know what you think about the battle scene, because it was difficult for me to write. I can imagine it in my head, but I don't know how well it translated so let me know. **

**Question: What do you think about Misty catching Pokemon outside of the Water type? **

**I don't mean that Misty will suddenly have an all-around team with tons of Electric, Fire, Grass, and Rock types or anything. No matter what Misty is going to be primarily a Water type trainer and I don't plan to alter that. **

**Trivia**

-I modeled the older man off of the gentleman trainer class from the Pokemon games.

-Nurse Joy actually work in the Pokemon Inspection Agency which is an agency which not surprisingly inspects gyms.

-My assessments are somewhat based off of the inspections

-In the anime there were two unofficial gyms the Yas and Kaz gyms which wanted to be official gyms, but because they were constantly fighting and basically destroyed their town, Dark City, the did not become official gyms.

-The agency appeared at Cerulean and the gym was given a passing grade when Misty managed to get Gyrados under her control, which is why it's on her team.

-Misty somehow took direct hits from poison stings from three Tentacruel to protect Gyrados, which was in a cage and couldn't dodge. Somehow it didn't kill her or do much lasting damage (Misty is pretty tough). This led Gyrados to trust her and beat the three Tentacruel.

-Misty crawled into the mouth of a Gyrados when she was a child so she was afraid of them.

-Politoad tends to cheer and clap, not always indicating who or what it's clapping about.

-It evolved while wearing a king's rock when Misty sent it out.

-Ash said it was pretty weird when it first evolved (the evolution not the Pokemon I assume), then called it a friendly little guy.

-Misty thought it was cute.

-Kingler used vicegrip on Psyduck's head in the Whirlcup and lost because of Psyduck's powers.

-Primeapre was originally a Mankey who Ash met on route seven

-Ash was upset that Gary caught thirty Pokemon while he had caught seven at the time

-Mankey was friendly until Ash tried to catch it. Mankey wasn't happy and beat up Ash before stealing his hat and teasing him about it. Team Rocket tried to steal Pikachu and James kicked Mankey out of the way

-Mankey got mad evolved and punched Jessie into a rock before going berserk. Charmander managed to put Primeapre down and Ash caught it.

**I'll explain more about Primeape next chapter so that's the end of trivia. Let me know if you have any questions about the story or want me to include something, I can't guarantee I will, but if you ask I'll try to accommodate you. I plan on bringing back some of the Pokemon Ash left behind Primeape being one of them so don't worry about that. Of course Ash and Misty will start catching more Pokemon once they start journeying.**

**Also please forgive any mistakes, I didn't have much time to edit this so let me know if anything doesn't make sense of if something is off. **


	9. Chapter 9: Not Afraid

Hello, I do not own Pokemon or Misty would already be back on the show however I do own the ideas in my story, which I hope you enjoy.

_"Hey Misty."_

_"Yes, Ash?"_

_"Do you want to walk to Pewter City like old times?_

_"Actually that sounds fun,"_

* * *

**POV (Ash)**

Ash saw Misty shiver again as she almost stepped on a Weedle and listened to her shriek when a Kakuna dropped right in front of her. "Still afraid of bugs, Misty?" Ash laughed looking at her. He paled when he saw her temper rising, it really was like old times and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Do you want me to get my mallet, Ash?" Misty asked in a deceptively quiet voice. Ash just shook his head 'no' mutely. "Then don't make fun of my dislike of gross bug Pokemon."

He felt his fear disappear when she yelped as a Beedrill flew overhead and grabbed onto his arm. She held herself against him tightly and he found he didn't mind her close proximity, but he still had to hold back his laughter.

* * *

**POV (Misty)**

Misty was slowly getting used to being in the forest again, in a sense she missed being out in the wild and if there weren't any bugs she would have enjoyed it more. Before she had time to contemplate it more she saw a group of Beedrills surrounding a small Pokemon.

All she saw was a flash of pink and without considering her options she threw a Pokeball, "Starmie, use water gun get rid of those Beedrill," Misty called out to Starmie who complied sending water at the Beedrill. They scattered allowing Misty to see a Jigglypuff standing in the middle of where the group had been. Misty's relief was extremely short lived, only moments after she walked towards the Jigglypuff a larger swarm of Beedrill appeared.

Misty went based on instinct and grabbed the Jigglypuff and started running away with the little thing in her arms. Ash followed complaining and yelling, but she ignored him until Pikachu jumped into the air and electrocuted them. Instead of having the intended effect, more angry Beedrill appeared out of the trees. The sky was almost completely blocked out by the yellow and black bodies and Misty could barely hear over the buzzing.

Before Misty could make a plan a voice started singing, looking down Misty realized it was the Jigglypuff. One by one the Beedrill started falling asleep and falling from the sky. Pikachu ended up napping on Ash's head, but Misty and Ash weren't affected. When the song was done and the Beedrill were down Ash asked, "Why didn't we fall asleep?"

"Jigglypuff generally have the ability to sing different tunes which effect Pokemon differently than one's that effect people," Misty looked down at the little pink Pokemon who stared back at her with large eyes.

"Jiggly," it responded snuggling into her arms, quickly taking to Misty.

"It's so cute, I just want to keep it forever," Misty almost squealed and hugged it close. Jigglypuff seemed to relish the attention and smiled. "Hey Jigglypuff do you want to come with me?" Misty asked the small Pokemon who she hadn't released from her arms.

"What are you doing?" Ash asked looking at the two who already seemed to have bonded.

"You got a lot of your Pokemon without really fighting them in the wild. Is it so crazy that I could get a Pokemon like that? I mean I saved its life," Misty replied making a dig at Ash without looking at him.

"It's more like it saved our lives," Ash pointed out looking at the sleeping Beedrill choosing not to rise to Misty's joke.

"Either way, do you want to come with me?" Misty held Jigglypuff at arm's length and it nodded in the affirmative. Misty threw a Pokeball straight in the air and Jigglypuff happily hopped in. After the ball clicked to a close it Misty did her signature pose, which she stole from Ash. Just after she did that Jigglypuff popped right back out.

"Did-did you change your mind?" Misty asked extremely confused looking at the Jigglypuff who escaped the ball. She was really excited about catching the Pokemon and was a bit depressed at the thought that it was going to leave her so quickly.

"Puff," Jigglypuff replied shaking its head, which was basically its entire body, and jumped back into Misty's arms. Jigglypuff made itself comfortable and after a few moments Misty came to a conclusion.

"You don't like being in a Pokeball is that it?" Misty watched for a reaction hoping she was right.

"Jiggly," It replied nodding bringing a bit of relief to Misty.

"That's fine, I don't mind carrying you around. Besides Pikachu doesn't like it either so it's not that odd considering our company," Misty shifted her arms so Jigglypuff was easier to manage. It was actually quite small even among Jigglypuff and light enough for her to carry comfortably.

"What ever happened to your favorite type being water Pokemon?" Ash joked, but carefully watched Misty snuggling Jigglypuff close for any signs of anger.

"Just because I love water Pokemon doesn't mean I can't like other types of Pokemon besides I've always wanted to catch a Jigglypuff. Remember when we met that first one remember?" Misty thought about the Jigglypuff she gave singing lessons to.

"That was one scary Jigglypuff. It beat up all those Clefairy and put us to sleep every time," Ash still remembered having that Jigglypuff drawing all over their faces.

"Yeah and I wanted to catch a Clefairy too, but I'm very happy to meet this little Pokemon," Misty smiled down at her new Jigglypuff.

"Puff," it agreed.

"Besides I took care of Togepi as well," Misty reminded him thinking about the little Pokemon she used to carry around much like the Jigglypuff in her arms. There was a slight pang of longing to see Togetic, but she pushed it down and thought about the good times.

"Yeah because you thought it was cute too," Ash laughed.

"It was because I have great maternal instincts," Misty shot him a warning look thinking about how having Togepi did change her personality a bit as she got older, but Ash still seemed able to drag out the angry eleven year old in her.

"Whatever you say," Ash rolled his eyes, "It was only because Togepi saw you first."

"I was the best choice anyway," Misty started walking in the direction that had originally been going.

"Because of your great maternal instincts?" Ash joked jogging to catch up with her.

"Yes because I'm so kind Jigglypuff will be happy with me," Misty hugged her new little partner who responded with a happy, "Jiggly."

"Yeah really nice except to me," Ash huffed under his breath.

"What did you say?" Misty and her Jigglypuff sent Ash identical glares

"Nothing," Ash held his hands up looking back and forth between the two. "Now I see why you belong together," Ash frowned at the matching satisfied smiles on their faces.

Despite Jigglypuff being a bit angry at Ash when they first met, the little Pokemon was easy to travel with as long as she remained happy in Misty's arms. Misty in return was perfectly happy to tote Jigglypuff around.

The rest of the day passed without much happening except a few small arguments breaking out between Ash and Misty most of which were more for the sake of fighting than any real issues because they enjoyed arguing more than either would admit.

Misty was laying in her sleeping bag staring at the moon and once again she was reminded of all the times she was in the same position with Ash and Brock lying a few feet away. "Hey, Ash."

"What, Misty?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"I'm really glad we came out here together," she whispered to him the nearly silent forest allowed her quiet voice to carry. It was in moments like this where everything was silent and she could hear the sounds of their breathing that she was most calm. She really did miss this, but more than the traveling she missed her friends especially Ash. Of course she wasn't about to admit that aloud.

"Me too Misty, me too," with that Misty allowed herself to go to sleep with her new partner, Jigglypuff next to her.

* * *

**P.O.V (Ash)**

Ash felt he shouldn't really have noticed a huge difference between traveling with Misty and traveling without her, but somehow having her near him made things better in a way he didn't know how to describe. His other friends were wonderful companions and he enjoyed being with them, but being back with Misty felt right.

Morning came around and the light filtering through the trees woke Ash up. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, sat up and looked at his surroundings. Misty was still asleep which surprised him, usually she woke before him, but with the stress that had been plaguing her he figured it was good that she rest.

He stared at her and took the time to commit every detail to memory. Her red hair had grown and now rested below her shoulder blades, it was fanned beneath her sleeping form. Her face was relaxed showing her petite features and slightly parted lips. The only sound was her rhythmic breathing and the sound of the leaves rustling in the gentle wind. When she moved slightly in her sleep Ash was knocked out of his trance and a blush quickly found its way to his face as he realized he had been watching her sleep. He thought that it was something only stalkers did, but he enjoyed looking at her which in his opinion seemed creepy.

He jumped away when she rolled over and ended up slipping over his sleeping bag ending up in a still blushing heap.

* * *

**POV Misty**

"Ash?" Misty murmured getting up and through still blurry eyes saw him on the ground caught in his sleeping bag. His face turned red when she looked at him sprawled on the ground. "Ash, are you that embarrassed?" She laughed a bit, "I've seen you worse off than jumbled on the ground, but it is still funny."

Ash managed to right himself and say, "Whatever," before busying himself looking in his backpack. The commotion woke Pikachu and Jigglypuff up both of whom jumped to their trainers. After a few minutes things went back to normal and the small camp was packed up.

After walking for a few minutes Misty stated resolutely, "Starting now I'm going to make an effort to be less grossed out by bug Pokemon." She managed to fight down the urge to jump when a Caterpie crawled past her.

"Do you mean less afraid?" Ash asked and without looking Misty knew he was smiling.

"Ash," she said in a warning tone, not liking to admit her weaknesses.

"Oh come on admit it you're afraid of bug Pokemon," Ash mocked her lightly.

"Fine, but I'm going to overcome my dislike for bugs," Misty made sure to emphasize the word 'dislike'.

"It's probably a good thing that you're going to try to overcome your fear," Ash placed heavy emphasis on 'fear'.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence with the sounds of the forest playing in the background Ash broke the undisturbed calm. "So, you're doing well at the Cerulean gym," Ash said and Misty smiled, but he continued, "How's the Pewter gym doing?

Misty's smile fell, "I forgot, you haven't been around, so you don't know anything," Misty didn't say it in an aggressive or antagonistic way, but Ash still looked a bit upset as he was yet again reminded of his absence, "You know that Brock gave some of his Pokemon to his brother Forrest, so he could lead right?"

"Yeah," Ash nodded.

"Did he tell you anything about the circumstances?" Misty asked wondering how much Ash actually knew about what was going on.

"Not really, he just told me he was giving the leadership to Forrest," Ash shrugged.

"Leave it to Brock to not want to bother anyone with problems. So what happened was that Brock's mom came back-,

Ash interrupted, "I thought she was dead?" Ash phrased it as a question.

"No," Misty shook her head indicating that Brock's mom was indeed alive. "She popped up one day and changed the gym into a water type gym. I was actually a bit annoyed," Misty frowned, "Two water type gyms so close together seems like a bad choice, but that wasn't the issue."

"How did it turn into a water type gym and what was the issue?" Ash asked.

"I'm getting to that, Brock's mother Lola came home, she's a water type specialist like myself. She wanted to change Pewter city gym into a water type gym. Apparently Flint has no ability to say no to her so she got her way and filled the place up with water and gaudy decorations," Misty started her explanation.

"Sounds pretty bad," Ash crossed his arms and frowned at the picture Misty was painting.

"It was, and for a time she ran things, until Brock came home and he wasn't pleased in the least," Misty looked up as if she was trying to remember the details, "He made Flint battle Lola for control of the gym and she won, but then Brock challenged her and managed to beat her."

"So that's good right?" Ash asked hesitantly.

"Yes, for a time that was good, but there was another problem or rather there were two," Misty looked back down at Ash.

"What was the first problem?"

"The first one they managed to take care of, it was a problem with paperwork. Brock and Flint were registered as gym leaders, but Forrest wasn't. So technically he wasn't allowed to be fighting as the gym leader, it was actually illegal. A nurse Joy came to shut them down, but it was somehow decided that if Forrest won a match against her he could be the gym leader. I don't know all the details," Misty explained the basics.

"Did she fight with a Chansey," Ash half joked.

"You'd be surprised how tough a Chansey can be, but no she sent out a Latias," Misty recalled for Ash.

"What, you're kidding" Ash's jaw literally dropped.

"No, she sent out a Latias to battle Forrest," Misty confirmed.

"Little Forrest managed to beat a Latias?" Ash asked in complete disbelief.

"No, he lost, but apparently the nurse Joy was impressed and allowed him to run the gym," Misty finished.

"Ok so what was the other problem?" Ash asked another question.

"This is the more important one and it stems from the changing of the gym type," Misty said in a slightly more grave tone.

"Was it something else with the Pokemon league? I'm starting to get a bit tired of hearing about those guys," Ash frowned again.

"No, not this time. You see, gyms always run the risk of being damaged considering all the battles that happen so upkeep is very important and often expensive. Gyms that feature rock or ground type Pokemon are obviously at a large risk considering the type of fighting that occurs. The Pewter gym was torn up to make it into a lake, then it was dug into to drain the water, and there is constant fighting from Pokemon that regularly use attacks like earthquake and rock throw. It was hard to see at the time, but there was major structural damage occurring and with everything going on nobody was making repairs. Soon after it was given the green light by the Pokemon league, the Pewter Gym collapsed," Misty finished sadly. It really was a tragedy that after all their work that the gym fell apart. It was the fear of something happening to her gym, which made her extremely careful in maintaining the gym.

"That's horrible," Ash almost shouted clearly upset for his friend.

"Don't worry about the family, the gym was insured plus the Pokemon league bylaws dictate that they must give money to any gym that is destroyed by no fault of the Leader outside of private insurance. To be honest there was some discord about whether they were to blame or not because all of the changes they made. In the end they did get money from the League and from the insurance separately, so financially they are fine for the time being," Misty assured Ash. "They didn't want to tell Brock anything until he returned so they didn't upset him and they waited to take any action before rebuilding the gym until Brock came back as well," Misty revealed why Brock hadn't found out while he was with Ash.

"So right now Brock's probably dealing with this," Ash said his voice dropping as he imagined the problem his friend was facing.

"Most likely and I checked the amount of money they've received, it's just enough to rebuild the gym's main areas and the living area for themselves. But it's going to take time to rebuild and longer to get the gym reinstated, it takes a lot of paperwork and the Pokemon League takes it's time with things," Misty almost growled the last part, but continued her explanation, "Meaning until the time it is rebuilt they have no place to live and no income. The money will allow them to rent a house to stay in, but everything is going to be very barebones. They literally have to take care of ten kids with just the money they aren't putting towards rebuilding or renting wherever they're going to be keeping their Pokemon."

"Wow, I never realized how much was going on behind the scenes, being a gym leader and I can't believe Brock had no idea. I'm also surprised that Brock's mom is a water type gym leader, instead of rock type like the rest of her family," Ash scratched his head processing all of the information.

Misty froze, "Talking about this gave me a great idea."

"What?" Ash clearly had no idea what Misty thought up.

"I need to figure things out, but I may have come up with a plan," a brilliant smile bloomed on her face.

"When did we decide we were coming up with a plan? I just found out about this seconds ago," Ash continued to look confused.

"Well I came up with a plan in those couple of seconds," Misty replied already starting to focus on her plan rather than Ash.

Ash rolled his eyes, "Fine, all hail the wonderful Misty. So what's the plan?"

"I'll tell you after I talk to Brock I want to see if this makes sense," Misty continued to fade into planning mode, growing more and more excited as she figured things out.

"Don't tell me you have a plan if you won't tell me what the plan was, now this is going to bother me all day," Ash moaned following Misty who had already started walking ahead.

**A/N**

**Thank you for reading. **

**I had actually planned to have Misty catch a Jigglypuff since the beginning, but I asked if anyone minded her catching other types of Pokemon to make sure nobody was vehemently against Misty straying from her favored type.**

**Anyway bringing up Misty trying to overcome her fear, Brock's gym and his parents, and Misty's plan will all be important going forward. And what's this are we seeing the beginnings of Ash coming to realize his feelings for Misty? Only time will tell so please keep reading.**

**Sorry for posting this so late, I was busy all day. I also apologize for any mistakes I made, I've been distracted. **

* * *

**Misty Pokemon on Hand**

-Politoad

-Starmie

-Psyduck

-Corsola

-Slowbro

-Gyrados

**Pokemon in Gym**

-Staryu

-Seadra

-Seaking

-Tentacool

-Kingler

-Cloyster

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows

**Ash's Pokemon on hand**

-Pikachu

-Totodile

-Swellow

-Primeape

-?

-?

* * *

**Trivia **

-It was a fact that Misty was terrified or bug Pokemon, certain Pokemon she could handle like Ash's Butterfree, but while it was a Caterpie she couldn't be near it.

-A recurring character in the series was a Jigglypuff that Ash, Misty and Brock found who couldn't sing. They tried teaching it how and gave it a fruit to help sore throats, however whenever it sang people fell asleep. The Jigglypuff got mad every time and drew on everyone's faces and slapped them. Misty originally wanted the Jigglypuff, but decided not to catch it.

-In one episode the Jigglypuff beat up a bunch of Clefairy for stealing its microphone/marker (One of my favorite moments in Pokemon).

-I did make up the bit about Jigglypuff singing different tunes, but I figured if it was an attack used in the game somehow the trainers had to be unaffected.

-The group found an egg which later hatched containing a Togepi, it saw Misty when it first hatched and thought it was his/her mother.

-Misty carried Togepi around in her arms

-They made in error in the English dub with Flint stating Brock's mother was dead.

-Lola doesn't have squinted eyes and apparently can make Flint do whatever she wants.

-Lola left her children just like Flint did (Brock's parents aren't very good) and they like to go on vacations.


	10. Chapter 10: Come Fly with Me

**I am not dead, despite not posting anything in nearly a month and I'm sorry I'm posting this so late. A lot has happened on multiple fronts, there are graduations, familial issues, and medical news aplenty. I'm not sure how this chapter turned out so feel free to let me know, **

**Please Enjoy,**

When the trees starting thinning out and the first rays of sunlight hit Misty she was overjoyed at finally getting out of the forest. Luckily it really was much smaller than most of the forests they traversed in their previous travels so it only took a day. If they had gone the way they were supposed to, around the forest it would have been shorter. According to the map going straight through the forest was shorter in distance, but it was much harder to hike through a forest than to walk along the path even if it wasn't a straight line. They easily could have shaved hours off their trip, but Misty didn't call Ash out on it.

"Misty we need to make a detour," Ash grabbed her arm lightly, stopping her in her tracks.

Misty was more than slightly annoyed and went back on her decision not to point out Ash's bad choice in travelling, "We went through your detour in the forest rather than the traditional path because you said it was a short cut. It wasn't Ash, that was not a shortcut and we are literally a straight shot to Pewter City what detour could there possibly be?"

"There's something we need to do, we absolutely need to," the determination in his eyes gave Misty pause. The serious tone and lack of a childish comeback surprised her enough to chase away her annoyance.

"Is this really important to you Ash?" Misty allowed her voice to become serious as well. When Ash became determined there was little anyone could do to stop him, but she wanted to agree with him rather than have him run off on his own.

"I made a promise and I always keep my promises. I have to do this and we can take a bus this time, there should be a stop once we make it to the main road over there," Misty followed Ash's pointed finger and saw in the distance there was a bus stop.

"Alright Ash, let's go fulfill your promise," she sighed slightly, but turned to walk to the bus stop. She reasoned that at least they wouldn't be walking back though the forest again. Jigglypuff seemed to agree with the sentiment having puffed up at the suggestion of them going back. Misty had informed Jigglypuff of where they both came from. Obviously the Pokemon didn't know the names of the towns so Misty just told her which end of the forest they were located near and apparently Jigglypuff had been glad to leave.

"Thanks Misty," he sounded grateful, but Misty knew she would have given in no matter what there wasn't anything to thank.

The walk was nearly silent Ash seemed lost in his thoughts and Misty decided not to question it. They waited on the bus stop until a bus to Pallet finally came. Misty wondered if they why they were visiting Pallet, it hadn't been long since Ash was there. Misty's curiosity grew during the ride, but she waited patiently instead choosing to watch Jigglypuff react to the bus ride and the few others on the bus.

Once the bus rolled to a stop and the two teens got out Misty expected them to head to Pallet town, but Ash walked in a different direction and all Misty could do was follow him.

"You know we're getting pretty close," Ash said looking around not letting his eyes rest on any one thing.

"Isn't this the area where you released Pidgeot?" Misty asked remembering the area because of the emotional time. Suddenly it hit her that they were going to see Pidgeot and that Ash was going to make good on his promise to come back for Pidgeot. She wondered if she should have realized earlier, but Ash hadn't said a word about it so she assumed it was something to do with his mother, Professor Oak, or his Pokemon.

"Yeah, I was trying to come back here to find Pidgeot and see if it wanted to join me again," Ash said looking around still distracted.

"So was there a point in walking through the forest to get to Pewter at all?" Misty asked managing to sound upset to tease Ash.

"Um, experience?" Ash shrugged.

"Well I met Jigglypuff so it's alright and it's good that we came back here," Misty let it go easily. She was excited to see Pidgeot as well, of course she was sure her excitement couldn't compare to Ash's.

"Yeah, I haven't seen Pidgeot in a long time," Ash sounded almost wistful, which didn't suit him.

"I just hope that after all this time Pidgeot will still want to join you," Misty thought out loud not considering her words before she spoke.

"What do you mean?" Ash had clearly been too excited at the prospect of seeing his old friend that he hadn't thought about the possibility that everything wouldn't just fall into place.

"I'm not saying this to discourage or upset you, but it has been literally years and I'm not sure Pidgeot will be ready to drop everything and run with you, so to speak," Misty hated being the voice of reason in a case like this, but Ash had to see the reality of the situation.

He hadn't been gone for a few weeks or even months, it had been a long time, years. "Regardless it will be nice to visit and I'm sure Pidgeot misses you," Misty quickly tried to reassure him resting a hand on his shoulder as they continued walking.

"Ash, I have a question. Why did you suddenly decide to come get Pidgeot?" Misty didn't mention how long he went without thinking of coming back, but she knew Ash knew the unsaid part of the question.

"Knowing I was going to be Kanto for a while made me realize I had to follow through on things I promised, which is why Primeape is with me and being in the forest with you reminded me I had to come back for Pidgeot. Whether Pidgeot chooses to come with me or not I still have to do this," Ash explained coming to a stop in the center of a clearing.

Misty was silently impressed and was happy that Ash was being mature about the situation, it was moments like this that made her look at him in a different light.

* * *

**P.O.V Ash**

Ash breathed in trying to gather air in his lungs before yelling, "Pidgeot." Pikachu tried his best to help throwing in his own 'Pika'. Nothing happened and Ash wondered if he hadn't been heard because he doubted he had been completely ignored. After a few more yells without a response he was starting to get worried, Pidgeot and the rest of its flock may already have moved on.

"Ash," Misty's voice cut through his thoughts, "do you have any Pokemon that could help find Pidgeot with you?"

"Actually I do have one," Ash smiled at the idea. "Go Charizard," he threw the Pokeball up releasing the dragon who landed next to him and looked down waiting for a command.

"I'm trying to find Pidgeot, but I'm not sure if I'm loud enough can you try calling to it for me," Ash asked the large Pokemon and wasn't disappointed. Charizard released an almost deafening roar and shot a gout of flames into the air, thankfully not burning anything. If Pidgeot was anywhere nearby it had to have heard the noise with its superior hearing. Ash thanked Charizard quietly and prepared to wait.

After only a few moments a speck appeared on the horizon, within seconds the speck grew and soon Ash was able to see a dark shape twisting through the air gracefully. The shape which was undoubtable a bird slowly descended and Ash could see a Pidgeot, no his Pidgeot resting on the ground only a few feet away. Ash approached the large bird and greeted his Pokemon with a large smile as if no time had passed, "Hey Pidgeot I told you I'd come back."

Though Ash could act like no time had passed, it had and that couldn't be changed. His Pokemon approached him slowly looking him over with the sharp eyes that came with being a powerful predator. Ash felt no fear he knew that Pidgeot wouldn't hurt him, they had a bond that couldn't be broken by time.

In a flash Pidgeot's entire demeanor seemed to soften and it butted its head against Ash's chest as it had liked to do when it was just a Pidgeotto. Ash wrapped his arms around Pidgeot's neck hugging his Pokemon burrowing his face into Pidgeot's downy feathers. Pidgeot managed to wrap its wings around Ash in a hug of its own. Ash was reminded of the time he was in a small cave trying to wait out a snowstorm and his Pokemon wanted to stay with him rather than in their Pokeballs. "I'm really sorry I didn't come back sooner," Ash apologized and Pidgeot chirped in response. Ash took that as Pidgeot forgiving him. Pikachu made its precense known by hopping onto the large bird's

"It's good to see you again, Pidgeot," Misty walked up to the trainer and his Pokemon once they separated. Pidgeot nipped at her affectionately and she ran a hand along Pidgeot's plume.

"Pidgeot would you like to come back with me?" Ash realized he was probably asking a lot. Rather than respond verbally Pidgeot lowered itself a bit giving Ash room to climb on its back. "Do you want to take me somewhere?" Ash asked looking at his Pokemon, Pidgeot nodded in affirmation.

"Sorry Misty I don't know if Pidgeot can carry us both so you'll probably have to wait here," Ash apologized.

Apparently Misty wasn't one to get left behind because she quickly replied, "Charizard can just take me, if it's alright with everyone."

"Are you sure you want to try flying with Charizard?" Ash asked dubiously, it took a while for Charizard to even listen to him. Pidgeot's body was built in a way that made it easy to ride, it required complete faith to ride Charizard hoping you wouldn't fall and that if you did Charizard would catch you.

"If Charizard doesn't mind, I'm not worried. I've trained my Gyrados, I'm not particularly intimidated by most Pokemon. Obviously I still have to ask for Charizard's permission," Misty said to Ash before turning to Charizard, "Do you mind giving me a lift?"

Ash was expecting the worst and was ready to tell Charizard not to burn her, but he was surprised to see Charizard shrug and hunker down a bit so Misty could wrap her hands around its neck. "Do you mind us coming along Pidgeot?" Misty asked knowing she couldn't just follow the Bird Pokemon. Pidgeot chirped granting permission to Misty and Charizard.

Pidgeot took to the sky carrying Ash and was presumably followed by Misty and Charizard who Ash couldn't see behind him. Ash was enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping in his face when the short flight came to an end. They landed on the top of a crag overlooking the area the flock had taken up residence. A grassy plain was surrounded by trees where the smaller birds nested and above that were various outcroppings of rocks from a mountain where the largest of the birds nested. Ash noted that every bird seemed focused on him, Pidgeot, Misty, and Charizard who landed directly after them. Ash climbed off Pidgeot allowing it to spread its wide wings and address the birds gathering.

Ash couldn't understand the conversation, but he could see the difference in the flock from when he had last seen them to now. It was larger and there were more Pidgeotto in the crowd with quite a few new Pidgeots flapping above them. They looked stronger and Ash wondered if they needed Pidgeot to keep them safe anymore.

The birds continued to converse and eventually Pidgeot rose into the air and with a few large flaps the rest of the birds inclined their heads to the apparent leader of the flock. Pidgeot landed again and turned to face Ash and butted its head against his chest. "Are you coming with me?" Ash asked the large Pokemon who chirped and moved to give room for Ash to climb on again.

Ash complied and Pidgeot took to the sky with him holding on with a long glance back Pidgeot flapped its large wings and took off to the area Ash had called to it from. A chorus of cries from the other bird Pokemon followed them.

Ash took some time to introduce Pidgeot to his newer Pokemon and reacquaint itself with the one's Pidgeot already knew. Eventually the sun started to sink and Ash knew they should try to reach a town or go back to his house soon.

"Do you think we should just head back to my home or try to make some progress on getting back to Pewter?" Ash asked Misty who trying to force Psyduck back into its Pokeball after it jumped out on its own.

"We should go back to your house so you can stop by professor Oak's house tomorrow and switch Pokemon. Right now you have two bird Pokemon with you, plus Pidgeot can see more of its friends," Misty pointed out knowing they could delay seeing Brock for another day. As sad as it was his situation wasn't going to have any major changes over the course of the day.

"You're probably right," Ash conceded. "Hey, Pidgeot can you fly me home?" Ash asked the bird Pokemon. He was about to return it, but he enjoyed flying and wanted to spend more time with Pidgeot even if it was just a short flight. "I'll let Charizard out to see if he'll fly you again," Ash pulled out Charizards Pokeball and again let Charizard out.

"Charizard is a sweetheart Ash, I can't believe you had so much trouble with it," Misty joked, but everyone was aware of how volatile Charizard was. It was unwaveringly loyal to Ash, but its temper wasn't something to ignore.

"Whatever, Charizard probably just likes pretty girls," Ash shot back defending himself and why Charizard wouldn't obey him.

"So I'm pretty now," Misty smirked.

However she looked surprised and slightly embarrassed when Ash replied honestly, "Yeah, you're really pretty Mist, you always have been." He coughed lightly at his admission not able to look directly at her scared at what he would find on her face.

"Well you're not so ugly yourself, Ketchum," Misty fell back on using his last name and quickly turned away to Ash's relief.

"Let's go," Ash hopped on Pidgeot and wanted to fly away from his embarrassment. Sure he thought Misty was pretty, but he wasn't planning on saying it out loud. After another exhilarating, but short flight Ash returned both of his Pokeballs and knocked on his door.

"Honey, I didn't expect you to be back and you brought Misty," Delia was better dressed than Ash had been expecting.

"Then why are you dressed like that?" Ash asked looking at the nice shirt and skirt his mother was wearing and the bit of make-up on her face.

"I had an old friend over, he's actually coming back to visit again in a few days, but I expect you won't be staying that long to meet him," she said beckoning both teenagers in. Ash couldn't tell if she was happy or disappointed that he wouldn't be around to meet her friend.

"Was it a date?" Misty asked curiously and Ash spluttered at the idea.

"You can't date," he said to his mom before she had a chance to answer.

"Why?" She looked interested in her son's reasoning for her not being able to date.

"You're you, you're a mom, you're my mom," Ash explained what he thought was a good point.

"I'm still a woman so yes if I want to I can date, but no it was not a date," Delia put her son's fears to rest. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but I thought you were leaving for a while, so why did you come back so soon and with Misty? Not that I'm not happy to see you as well, dear," Delia spoke while walking into the kitchen with Ash and Misty in tow.

Ash relayed an abridged version of the story as to why they ended up back at Ash's home and his mother accepted it easily. He knew she'd heard plenty of stories from him many of them were crazy so this was simple by comparison. "So are you two staying the night?" Delia asked. Misty and Ash nodded in the affirmative. "Alright I'll make dinner for all of us," Delia looked happy at the prospect of cooking for more than herself and Mimey.

"You don't need to trouble yourself," Misty said at the same time that Ash cheered. Ash looked over at her and shrugged, his mother was a great cook he wasn't going to ignore an opportunity for his mother's home cooking.

"It's not trouble at all now get out of my kitchen while I cook," Delia shooed them out with a spatula.

After eating more than was probably healthy Ash decided he would turn in for an early night's sleep. He was filled to the brim with food and feeling lethargic.

* * *

**P.O.V Misty**

"Are you going to stay up Misty?" Delia asked Misty who was still lounging on the couch.

"Probably for just a bit longer, so tell me Delia who was the mystery man that visited you," Misty asked in a low voice.

"Well, you seem very interested. Fine I wasn't lying when I said he was an old friend I've known him since I was a teenager and no we aren't dating, but we did at one point a long time ago," Delia explained sounding nonchalant, but Misty swore she saw something in her eyes that disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Wow," Misty thought about Delia dating some suave man who would sweep her off her feet and she didn't feel as repulsed as she thought she might. Maybe it was because Delia seemed so young or because Delia wasn't her mother, but she supported Delia dating. Still she wanted to ask about Ash's dad, which was a topic she was interested in. She could be acting horribly inappropriate if Delia was married and she was making these suggestions, but she hadn't heard about him at all in all the time she knew Ash and Delia.

Before she could say anything else Delia spoke again, "Now, if you continue to push about my possible relationships I may do the same to you and ask about Ash." Delia gave Misty a sly smile and got up from her seat.

"W-What do you mean by that," Misty laughed nervously, immediately giving up on her line of questioning.

"I'm a mother I know everything, now I'm going to go to bed. The guest room is set up so you can head up whenever you like," Delia gave Misty one last smile before disappearing up the staircase. After shaking her head a few times Misty followed and slipped into the guest room. She didn't want to confront any feelings she might have for Ash, it was so much easier when she was younger and simultaneously harder. At least back then she knew she had a crush on Ash and he was too oblivious to notice or recognize his own feelings if he had any. If she had said anything he probably would have brushed it off and things might have continued normally, but they were older now and it was a much more difficult subject to broach.

She didn't know if he had feelings for her, how he would react if she admitted she had feelings, or even what her own feelings were. She knew she felt something, but was it the remnants of a childish crush that would melt away or something that would continue to grow and expand? For now she would allow things to move naturally and if in the process she figured out how either of them felt she would deal with it accordingly. So she could admit she felt something and thought he might feel something for her, but everything beyond that got very confusing. Sometimes she hated being a teenager and she hadn't even turned sixteen.

Misty willed herself to go to sleep she and Ash needed to stop by Professor Oak's lab and then they needed to get over to Pewter City and from there they could figure it out. Misty realized their planning skills were pretty limited, originally she wanted things to be about her improving and once again she got caught up with Ash. However she couldn't say she minded it too much and that thought was a bit scary in it of itself.

* * *

**Authors Notes**

**I know I already said it above, I'm sorry I completely went against my once a week updating plan, but you know life happens. To make a lot of long stories short, things have happened and I may be getting brain surgery, but its not anything to worry about, yet.**

**I had a chapter finished weeks ago, but I had to tear it apart for a few reasons one being that I had basically taken a character and put them somewhere they didn't belong to add something, I brought in Pokemon that I liked, but weren't necessary. The whole thing was decently written, but 1/3 didn't belong so I might use that later. 1/3 was a bit too much of me writing something I liked more than it made sense so there is a small chance it might make it in later if I do a bit of fixing. The last third didn't fit with the other 2/3 I had to rewrite so I scrapped that as well. I do like my title though. **

**So to the actual story, this chapter may seem a bit fillerish, but I swear it has meaning. First getting Pidgeot back which I feel has been a long time coming, I'm still annoyed Ash didn't follow through in the series. I did take a few liberties with their relationship, but Pidgeotto had less character development than most of his early Pokemon and it left right after it evolved. So I hope I did an alright job with their reunion.**

**Secondly there was a bit more development on the Ash and Misty front which I know is going slowly, but based on their characters I can't imagine this being a quick process and Delia's gentleman friend will eventually play a role. Still I felt like this chapter didn't do as much as I wanted, so please tell me if you thought it was alright in a review to renew my faith in my writing. Sorry, I'm not fishing for reviews don't feel obligated, but I would be happy.**

**Also despite Misty's closing thoughts this entire story will not be based around her following Ash, I don't like the idea of her becoming too dependent on being with him.**

**Also in apology for not updating I'm going to be putting out the first chapter in a little pet project I wrote up. It's also about Misty and Ash, but it isn't about adventuring or anything like that. It won't take up as my primary story, but if you want something a bit fluffier than this, check it out tomorrow. Sorry for the long note. **

* * *

**Misty Pokemon on Hand**

-Politoad

-Starmie

-Psyduck

-Corsola

-Slowbro

-Gyrados

**Pokemon in Gym**

-Staryu

-Seadra

-Seaking

-Tentacool

-Kingler

-Cloyster

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows

**Ash's Pokemon on hand**

-Pikachu

-Totodile

-Swellow

-Primeape

-Charizard

-Empty - Pidgeot

* * *

**Trivia**

**-**As clearly stated in the story Ash did leave Pidgeot behind and promised to come back for it (Which he failed to do so far).

-Pidgeotto evolved to protect a flock of Pidgey and Ash told it to stay because they needed Pidgeot to protect them more than he did.

-In one episode during a snow storm Ash and his Pokemon hide in a cave despite Ash returning them to their Pokeballs they came back out to be with him, Pidgeotto wrapped its wings around him.

-A quote by Ash is, "You win. Guess we'll be cold... all together. That's right... We'll be cold all together." It was pretty touching when I was a kid.

-In the same episode it is revealed Jessie loves snow and used to eat is because her family was poor, one food was "snow rolls". (The food is just snow in the shape of food, it helps keep her figure)

-Charizard has a girlfriend, Charla, in Charicific Valley.

-Delia's gentleman caller will be based somewhat in canon, but I don't want to tell you anything else yet. I promise it will be explainable.

-Ash's father is mentioned briefly in the second episode as is his grandfather. They haven't been featured, there may have been a picture in his house, but it's all guess work really.

-His grandfather was a great trainer and apparently his father followed in his footsteps leaving his son at a young age possibly before he was born, but obviously after he was conceived.

-The father thing depends on who you ask and since I'm not expert I'll leave that piece of trivia there.


	11. Chapter 11: Brock Out

**Please Enjoy, **

**(If I don't indicate POV it's Misty's)**

Misty woke up to the smell of yet another one of Delia's meals. After a shower she put some of the clothes she brought with her on. Thankfully she didn't have to wear any of Delia's old clothing on, they were nice, but slightly embarrassing. The reaction she got was flattering, but she rather wear something comfortable especially if they were travelling.

Misty, Ash, and Delia ate breakfast comfortably despite Ash's horrible table manners. "I swear I raised you better than to shovel food into your mouth," Delia sighed.

"Shworry," Ash replied around the pancake in his mouth. Misty held in her own comment knowing it wouldn't have much of an effect on Ash and wouldn't change his habits. Instead she watched him eat with thinly veiled disgust, but some part of her admitted he looked cute. That part of her was crushed by the larger part of her which respected table manners.

Ash ran off to professor Oak as soon as he was finished and Misty followed after she finished in a slightly more dignified manner. She arrived to see a heartwarming scene with Ash helping Pidgeot reacquaint itself with Ash's old Pokemon and introduce itself to Ash's new Pokemon. She was happy Pidgeot chose to journey with them again and not just because they now had a way of flying besides Charizard. It felt more like old times and brought back fond memories, she contented herself with watching until it ended and Ash ran inside to switch his Pokemon. He wasn't inside for long and after a series of goodbyes he ran over to Misty, ready to get going.

* * *

Without much more time passing they set off to Pewter Misty clinging to Charizard while Ash rode Pidgeot. They touched down in Pewter and Ash was ready to run, but Misty watched him pause and look at Misty questioningly.

Misty led the way because Ash had no idea where Brock and his family were living. They passed the gym which was still being rebuilt. Misty knew that from the outside the gym looked pretty bad, but she reminded herself it was on its way to recovery.

The damage left it impossible to reuse any of the old infrastructure, so the gym had to be entirely scrapped. They were still laying down the groundwork so it looked like very little progress had been made. However Misty knew that it had come a long way from where it was when she first found out about the collapse. She could see Ash staring at the gym and an unreadable expression was on his face.

"You know Ash, they have made a lot of progress," Misty tried to console him before he allowed himself to get to upset on Brock's behalf.

"Really?" She could see why he didn't believe her.

"Yes, it took a while to remove everything and they've already started the most difficult part so don't look so upset," Misty half-lied. It was true they were doing the most difficult part, but it would still take a while for everything to get set both physically with the gym and to get things settled with the League.

Misty led Ash to a nice apartment complex and knocked lightly on the door. Moments later it was opened by a little boy who looked like a miniature Brock. "Hi, Misty," he said with the kind of bright smile only a child could make.

"Hi, it Brock home?" Misty asked the child who didn't remember Ash, only shooting him a quick look.

"Yeah, I'll go get him," the boy ran off leaving Misty and Ash outside the door. Misty could hear voices, but they were too far away for her to accurately place. It only took a minute until Misty saw Brock walking to the door.

"Misty and Ash, what are you guys doing here?" He looked surprised to see them and Misty didn't blame him, she usually called ahead first.

"Nice way to greet us Brock," Misty said good naturedly.

"Sorry, it's nice to see you both I was just surprised. Please come in," he stepped back and let Misty and Ash step through the doorway. They were led to what Misty assumed was the family room and she sat on an extremely comfortable couch. After talking for a while and catching up Flint and Lola made their presence known and sat down on a love seat across the room.

"How's the gym been," Lola asked Misty settling herself against Flint.

"About that I wanted to discuss something with you all, specifically you Lola," Misty was given the perfect opportunity to reveal her second motive for coming.

"What's that dear?" Lola looked confused.

Misty sighed trying to fight down her worry about what she was about to talk about,"I'm planning on taking some time off from the gym and I'm thinking about having an interim gym leader rather than closing it down or letting my sisters lead," Misty explained.

"Are you're asking me?" Lola tried to read Misty's intent in bringing it up.

"Well you are a water specialist with experience as a gym leader so it makes sense that I would ask you," Misty said keeping her tone neutral, but with enough confidence to act like she was completely comfortable with the idea.

"I'd love to," Misty could see Lola getting excited which worried her.

"However, I only want you to stand in for battling. I want to make sure you understand you can't make any executive decisions about the gym. So no decorating, no changing the schedules, you won't be paying the bills, or dealing with paperwork of any kind," Misty paused and held up a hand to stop Lola from interjecting. She was afraid she was being rude, but she continued, "Lola, I trust you as a trainer, I've seen your skills myself and I have no doubt you can represent the Cerulean gym effectively. On the other hand I've seen what you do when you have control over a gym and the decisions you make aren't always good one," everyone knew what Misty was referring to, but had enough tact not to say anything.

Misty took a breath and continued "Payment for your services will be based on the amount of money the gym brings in and the upkeep for the gym. Since it's still my gym the money sent to the cerulean gym will first go to pay for the necessities, I expect that price will rise a bit because your Pokemon will also be provided a place to stay in the gym. The money that is left over will go directly to you as will all the bonuses the gym receives based on your victories. Basically you're getting paid simply to battle and I'll set up the deals with the suppliers for food, cleaning, repairs, and things of that nature. So what do you say?" Misty finished her little speech still keeping an air of confidence in her idea.

"I think that's a wonderful idea, we need a source of income to provide for us outside of what we received and I'll be able to do something I love. I am a bit upset I won't be able to decorate, but from what I've seen the Cerulean gym is really pretty on its own. Plus I'm a fan of the sensational sisters, I'd love to see one of their shows," Lola looked excited at the prospect. "You said you'll provide room for all my Pokemon to stay?"

"Yes, we have very large facilities, it should be fine. I just need to make sure your Pokemon get along with mine. We also have an incubation room for any eggs in case you have any eggs you're currently taking care of or if one of your Pokemon is pregnant," Misty knew her facilities would be able to house her Pokemon she just had to make sure it didn't upset her own Pokemon, they came first.

Lola looked excited as she remembered something,"Oh, speaking of eggs my Blastoise just had a few hatch, I'm so excited. One of them seems particularly rambunctious, I think it wants to adventure. If Blastiose is alright with it, maybe you could take Squirtle with you. I promise Blastiose has great genetics, the babies are all adorable," Lola started cheering at the thought of the babies and grabbed onto Flint who seemed happy to be getting hugged.

"Misty are you really fine with having my mother in your gym?" Brock asked Misty. Misty could see him looking for any indecision, "I don't want you doing this just because we're friends."

"I'm not, Lola's battle skills are extremely good and nobody in the area could represent the Cerulean gym as well as her in battling with water Pokemon. For obvious reasons I don't plan on letting her have any control of the gym as far as making decisions. She's just a stand in, I saw what happened in the Pewter gym and I'm not about to let that happen to my gym," Misty hoped that didn't come out as harshly as it sounded to her. "If you want to stop by while I'm not around to check on things I'd appreciate it. The only other people that are going to be there full time are my sisters who are even worse than Lola."

"I promise I'll check in on the gym and see if everything is in order," Brock reassured her.

"Thanks Brock," Misty relaxed knowing that Brock would keep his promise. She was somewhat nervous about the gym being in the hands of her sisters and Lola. Both had pretty bad track records in different ways, but she would be setting things up before she left so as long as they didn't make any major mistakes things should run smoothly. She also knew the gym was her first responsibility so if necessary she would head back immediately.

After a bit more discussion Misty invited Lola to come over at some point over the next few days so they could get things set up officially.

* * *

Once that was settled and Flint left the room with Lola in tow Brock went back to talking with Misty and Ash.

"So tell me a bit about what you're planning to do while you're away from the gym. A while back you mentioned wanting to get away from the gym to train and catch some new Pokemon," Brock repeated what she'd told him a while back.

"Well yeah, that's where my plan started. When I met up with Ash again I suggested we both enter the Indigo League," Misty gave him an extremely abridged version of how her plans altered.

"You're only a three star gym, you can't enter based on that," Brock pointed out what had been bothering her for so long.

"I know, I was hoping to get my rank up to a four star so I could participate," Misty shrugged trying to appear nonchalant about how much it had been weighing on her.

Brock gave her a look that clearly meant he saw right through her forced calm, "I'm guessing by your tone you didn't achieve a higher rank. To be honest Misty I'm not surprised, I know you're talented, but moving from a three star to a four star gym doesn't happen in one year."

"They said it was based on experience and me not facing enough trainers of a high caliber so I suggested I battle Ash who was at the gym during the assessment," Misty revealed her unothodox last attempt with the assessors.

"Did they actually allow it?"

"I was actually surprised when they said, yes."

"How did it go?"

"I won because Ash went easy on me, but I'm not sure if they noticed. I'm supposed to get news from them in a few days.

"Do you think you'll get good news?

"Honestly, no. If I'm looking at it objectively I wouldn't give myself the rank of a four star gym, not yet.

"So what happens if you can't enter the indigo league?

"I'll do what I was originally planning to do: train, catch Pokemon, explore, and improve myself as a trainer. So by next year I am good enough to make the Cerulean gym worth being called a four star gym. Plus I'll cheer for Ash when he enters, but after that I need to focus on myself," Misty explained looking only slightly upset at the prospect of not being able to enter. Misty gave Brock a sad smile, "I'd love to invite you to come with us, but I know you're studying to be a doctor and you have to deal with this gym situation."

"Trust me I would love to travel with you and Ash again, but you're right I have responsibilities I need to deal with here. Besides something tells me you guys would have more fun traveling alone," Brock gave Misty a smile that screamed that he knew something she didn't.

"I doubt it," Misty shrugged not thinking about any possible implications, she was too preoccupied thinking about the gym. Ash on the other blushed catching the suggestive tone. For once he wasn't the oblivious one and it was obvious, Misty failed to notice his reaction.

* * *

(POV Brock)

Brock fancied himself someone who had a great amount of knowledge about love and he spotted the crushes Ash and Misty had on each other long ago. He had been like an older brother to them during their travels, but even if he wasn't so close to them it wasn't hard to see. Misty's crush was painfully obvious from the way she interacted with him and Ash's jealously and tendency to fight with Misty wasn't much better. Misty hadn't been too bad when they first started travelling and Ash didn't seem to have any idea of what love was. Over time it got worse and worse it was almost painful during the time they spent in the orange islands.

Tracey told him it got even worse once he left and apparently now that they were reunited it came back in full force and then some. Ash was far less oblivious about love and attraction so he turned into a blushing mess and tried to surreptitiously move closer to Misty when he thought nobody noticed. Misty was too preoccupied with her plans to pay attention, but when Ash's fingers accidentally brushed hers she practically jumped.

Brock wasn't going to force them together, but he wondered if having a talk with Ash would be helpful because he instinctively knew Misty wanted Ash to make the first move. However if Ash didn't Brock wouldn't be surprised if eventually Misty would go after Ash who would freeze up and things would end up an awkward mess. That's what happened on Christmas years ago, Ash was too nervous to kiss Misty and freaked out under the mistletoe leading to him tripping and ending up a heap on the floor covered in Christmas cookies.

So if Brock gave them a little push in the right direction who could blame him, he was only being a good friend and brother. Besides Misty was a pretty girl and men had made moves to date her in the past. She wasn't really the vindictive type who would date someone just to make Ash jealous, but she might eventually choose to move on thinking Ash wasn't interested. If it got to that point and there was a chance Misty might want to stay with them, even if Ash finally came to terms with his feelings and revealed them.

Brock allowed himself to envision all the problems that could occur if he didn't step in and that pushed him to start making a plan. It could wait, he would allow things to move at what he was sure was a nearly glacial pace hoping something would happen and if it did he could sit back and be happy for them. If not he would strike like the love guru he truly was.

* * *

Misty had no idea what Brock was thinking about, but she didn't like the look on his face. "Brock what are you planning?" She asked allowing some venom to seep into her voice.

"Nothing at all," Brock replied innocently.

"Brock I know you well enough to know you're lying," Misty arched an eyebrow expected a real answer.

"It's nothing you have to worry about trust me," Brock sounded far more honest.

Heaving a large sigh, Misty replied, "Fine."

"Does it involve us, Brock?" Ash asked from his spot next to her.

"No," Brock replied way to quickly, once again revealing he was lying.

"Brock," Misty said in a warning tone.

"Do you guys trust me," Brock asked.

"Of course," Ash and Misty said at the same time. They glanced at each other completely missing Brock's grin.

"Then, trust that it's nothing bad," Brock raised his hands in protection.

"Fine," they said at the same time and looked at each other again.

* * *

After spending the rest of the day listening to day Brock talk about his life and updating him on theirs Misty and Ash headed home. Misty was dropped off at the gym so she could start her paperwork, and wait for Lola along with the results from the Pokemon league. After exchanging a few words with her sisters and checking on her Pokemon she dropped into bed. She didn't realize how tired she was until her head hit the pillow and she promptly fell asleep. She knew the next few days would be important, but she was looking forward to what happened afterwards. She would finally achieve freedom at least for a short time and be able to spend her free time with Ash.

* * *

**Sorry I'm skipping the facts and Pokemon on hand sections this time, I'm sick and barely forced myself to finish this chapter and post it. I'll probably update this later, but I didn't feel like holding onto this until next week. Happy Independence day to American readers, to everyone else happy weekend because that's pretty nice as well. If I feel better I might update my other story or be struck by inspiration and write a one-shot or something, but don't count on it. Sorry if it's is a bit lack-luster, I wouldn't have posted it, but I felt the inexplicable need to do so. Like I said I'll probably update this later especially if people review and point out its flaws, but the changes won't be so much that it's necessary to re-read it later unless you feel like it. **

**Misty has been set up to possibly get a Squirtle so all Squirtle fans out there can be happy about that. For those of you who dislike Lola, which I can't really blame you for I felt she was needed for the story to progress the way I want it to. If I didn't do that I wouldn't imagine Misty being able to leave the gym with a clear conscience and I didn't really think of anyone who fit the bill. Also Brock may have some nefarious plan, but most likely it will be kindhearted just wait and see. I have something I find funny planned in there. **

**If I don't update my other story until next weekend I want to thank anyone who read that, I really appreciated it. OK that's all thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it. **


	12. Chapter 12: Email Excitement

**Hello everyone I am back with chapter 12**

** Please enjoy,**

* * *

POV (Misty)

"Alright guys, I'm going to go on ahead to Cerulean to start getting things set up, have fun hanging out," Misty announced after hanging out with Brock and Ash for a while. She was enjoying herself and would have loved to spend more time talking, but she couldn't afford to spend much more time away from her work.

"Are you sure you don't need me to come?" Ash asked, but Misty couldn't think of a good reason to bring him along aside from personal enjoyment.

"No, I mainly need to do paperwork and make preparations. You'd be a distraction a nice one, but still a distraction," Misty said trying to be gentle. It was true that she enjoyed spending time with Ash, but Misty knew she had to focus on work if she wanted things to go smoothly. He was starting to occupy her thoughts too much and that would be a problem if she wanted to get work done.

"I got it, besides it'll be good for me to hang out with Brock, so I'll see you later Misty," Ash replied sounding cheerful, Misty was glad she didn't offend him.

"Bye everyone it was great to see you all again," Misty said to Brock and his family. "Come by soon, Lola," Misty turned to look at Lola who nodded enthusiastically. With that Misty walked out the door and managed to catch a bus back to Cerulean. She didn't want to drag out her goodbyes, if it took too long she might end up wanting to stay longer.

She returned to thy gym and let her Pokemon out of their balls, Jigglypuff in general seemed annoyed at having to spend time in the ball. Misty couldn't have carried the balloon Pokemon flying on Charizard or in the crowded bus so Jigglypuff spent more time than in a Pokeball that she was happy with.

Jigglypuff was given a full tour, but ended up staying Misty while she worked rather than hang out with the other Pokemon. She wasn't going to force her Pokemon to stay away as long as it didn't impact her ability to work.

So with her loyal Jigglypuff at her side she launched into her paperwork, flying through it like a madwoman. Daisy stopped by to give her some coffee which Misty gratefully accepted. Aside from the work she would normally have to do, she had to draw up long term contracts for her various suppliers, and of course create the terms for an interim gym leader. She needed to have an airtight contract with Lola, not that she thought the woman was going to try anything devious, and something that would satisfy the Pokemon League.

If the League decided they didn't feel like accepting her request she would be stuck. To leave she would have to put her sisters in charge or try to shut down the gym for time period, but shut downs were regulated to an even greater degree. The last gym successful in a long term shut down was the Viridian gym, but that was rare.

Of course she wouldn't shut down the gym just a long period of time just for her own goals, she refused to be that selfish. In reality the 'sensational sisters' brought in enough money to keep the gym afloat if it was closed for a time, but she still didn't feel comfortable doing it. The repercussions completely outweighed the benefits. So if her request wasn't accepted she would have to wait another three months before she could try again.

She knew she didn't have time to dwell on that so she worked well into the night. When she woke up the next morning it was with her face on her desk and a paper stuck to the side of her face, luckily it was just blank printer paper.

She forced herself to go through her morning routine, grabbing a bowl of cereal and some much needed coffee. Rather than jump right into her paperwork again she trained with her Pokemon which was very important and far more enjoyable than dealing with financial statements or responding to e-mails.

* * *

POV (Ash)

Ash spent the night with Brock's family and directly after breakfast Brock said he wanted to discuss something with him. Brock led him to his room and sat down indicating Ash should do the same. Ash felt a tension in the air, which he chose to ignore.

"Alright Ash I have a question," Brock began carefully.

"Sure what's up?" Ash felt slightly worried about Brock's demeanor, but not overly so.

"I'm going to be blunt because I think too much time has been spent dancing around the topic. Do you like Misty?" Brock asked outright.

"She's one of my best friends of course I liked her," Ash responded weakly trying to avoid the real question.

"Don't play dumb, Ash. Do you have any romantic feelings for Misty?" Brock asked again in a slightly lighter tone, clearly he could tell it was a delicate topic.

Ash wasn't sure how to respond, he wasn't great with feelings and he knew that, but it was still hard to figure out. His relationship with Misty was more difficult to define that his relationships with other people. She was one of his best friends he knew that, but there was this underlying sense of something that appeared once in a while. Whatever that thing was came from both of them at different times. "Look, Brock I don't really know much about feelings or romance, that's not my strong point," Ash finally replied.

"Fine, fine, I get that," Brock sighed, "Do you think Misty is attractive?" Ash could feel Brock's eyes on him and had the decency to blush.

"Yeah, I've always thought she was pretty," Ash said looking anywhere, but at Brock.

"What else do you like about her?" Brock prompted.

"Well she's smart, she's funny, she isn't a push over, she loves Pokemon and is a good trainer, she's fun to argue with, she's easy to talk to, I kind of like her temper when she isn't being too scary, and yeah she's really pretty. I don't know Brock, I like a lot of things about her. I like when she gets excited about things, I like how kind she can be, how brave she except when she sees bug Pokemon, but she's also kind of cute when she gets scared," Ash paused he only realized how much he said after he stopped speaking and froze in horror at how much he revealed.

"Jeez, you've got it bad," Brock whistled at Ash's admission.

"Shut up, you get crazy over almost every girl you meet," Ash shot back.

Brock shrugged, "Yeah, but I admit it. You're repressed, you've got to face these feelings, like a man."

"That stuff doesn't mean I like her," Ash replied fighting with himself about his possible feelings. He didn't want to confront them so he allowed his stubbornness and fear to shove the thoughts away.

"Sure, but you should probably try to figure things out at some point," Brock rested a hand on Ash's shoulder and looked at him sympathetically.

Ash just shook his head and sighed, he almost jumped out of his skin when someone knocked on the door. "Mom, made lunch are you guys hungry?" The high pitched voice of one of Brock's sisters called from outside the room.

"Yes," Ash replied to escape the conversation before Brock could take things further. Ash was barely able to focus on his food, too deep in thought to do anything, but robotically eat.

* * *

POV (Misty)

Misty groaned, she spent another long night in her office and was desperate to have something distract her. Luckily that came in the form of an excited woman coming through the front doors. "Misty, dear I'm here," Lola called as she ran up to her.

"H-hi Lola," Misty was surprised by Lola's energy or maybe she was surprised because she was comparing it to her own lack of energy. She took a few moments to collect herself and invited Lola to her office to discuss the terms. Lola to her credit took it very seriously and showed no hint of her usual crazy personality. Soon the contract was signed and both females stood up glad to have everything in order. Misty was hoping to get an e-mail about the approval later that day. If they said yes, she would scan the contract and send them a copy hopefully finalizing everything.

Seeing that Lola was already over Misty gave her a tour, which would make things easier when she took over assuming things went well. Misty was mildly surprised at how attentive Lola was and how carefully she inspected the facilities and the questions she asked. Misty felt a bit like she was being assessed again, though unlike the assessors Lola was smiling at everything she saw.

"Do you think any of your Pokemon will have an issue with mine moving in?" Lola glanced over at Misty while they stood outside looking over the grounds.

"Most of my Pokemon will be fine about it, a few might be shy at first, but unless your Pokemon are very aggressive everything should be fine," Misty said watching Politoad clapping. She knew at the very least Politoad wouldn't have any problems and almost all her Pokemon were friendly and had spent time around other Pokemon.

"Don't worry my Pokemon will be on their very best behavior," Lola promised.

"The only Pokemon I could see having an issue would be my Gyrados, he sometimes has trouble getting along with others when I'm not around," Misty admitted, "but I generally keep him with me in a Pokeball so I don't think it'll be a huge issue."

"Trust me dear I understand, my Gyrados is a bit temperamental as well, but as long as I'm around she's an angel," Lola said patting Misty's shoulder. "Oh, it's getting rather late isn't it?" Lola asked looking up at the setting sun.

"Do you need to get home?" Misty looked at Lola who was still staring at the sunset.

"Yes, I'm sorry to leave so suddenly, but I want to get home soon," Lola turned to face her looking slightly sad.

"It's fine, I'll walk you out," Misty led the way allowing Lola to follow her to the front door.

Once they reached the door Lola grabbed her for a hug, "Thank you sweetie for this opportunity, I'll see you soon if things go well. Oh and I'll tell the boy's you're doing well."

Misty wouldn't admit it out loud, but it was nice having someone like Lola around, it was the same way she felt when she was with Mrs. Ketchum. She missed the feeling of having a motherly figure around, although she wouldn't call Lola the ideal mother.

Once she was out of sight Misty headed back to her office to check her computer to see if she had received any e-mails from the league. After opening her inbox she noticed three e-mails all from the league. The league had a habit of being very quick or very slow depending on the type of paperwork and who in particular was dealing with it, somethings they were fine rushing through and others they dragged on.

Without opening them she saw one was the results of the assessment which she almost forgot about, one was the response to her request for an interim gym leader and the last was an invitation to something.

She opened the results of her assessment and let out a small sigh when she saw the gym's rank would not be changed, not that she was expecting anything else. She read quickly through the rest of the e-mail which basically confirmed what she thought the reasoning would be. However it was the end of the e-mail which surprised her,

'_Although you will remain a three star gym we are offering you a pass to enter the gym leader preliminaries to participate the Pokemon League. We have chosen to do so because you expressed interest entering the Pokemon League and we saw your skill firsthand during your battle with Ash Ketchum. We wish you the best of luck.'_

Misty almost cheered out loud, she was going to be able to enter. She would have to face off with the other gym leaders to earn a spot in the preliminaries, generally only four Gym Leaders were allowed entrance into the actual competition.

The second e-mail she opened only increased her good mood, her request had been accepted all she needed to do was send them the contract between Lola and her. The third e-mail she hadn't been expecting at all, it was an invitation to a multi-regional gym leader gathering.

The Pokemon League organized large gatherings for the gym leaders, on the surface it was basically an all expense paid vacation for gym leaders, but it was important to an extent. It fostered friendships and prevented problems between Gyms who often times formed rivalries. It gave the leaders a simple place to discuss how things were being handled from gym to gym. It was also a good time to gather information about what was going on in the different areas the gyms were located in and learn new strategies and techniques from other talented gym leaders. Of course there actually were meetings as well, which dealt with anything from major issues involving requirements for all gyms to requests to change the gym's badge.

This time it was being hosted in the Orange islands with Gym leaders, officials, and League members which included the elite four and the current champions from Johto, Kanto, and of course the Orange Islands. It was technically optional, but unless someone had a reason not to go it was expected they would attend. It just wasn't in good form not to show up or have someone there to represent the gym.

Misty's exhaustion was catching up with her so with the good news still fresh in her mind she decided to go to bed early. She would let everyone know the good news when she woke up hopefully fully rested. Misty didn't plan to bring up the multi-regional gym leader gathering for a little while, she wanted to plan how everything would be set up before saying anything.

Still before she could actually head off to bed she needed to train a bit longer, she was really on the verge of a breakthrough with some of her Pokemon and thought Tentacool might evolve soon. Of course she would never rush her Pokemon or push them past their limits, but for now they had enough energy to do a bit more training, she just hoped she did.

"Seadra use bubblebeam one last time and Tentacool pop the bubbles with your poison sting," Misty called out and watched in satisfaction as Seadra launched a barrage of bubbles into the air and Tentacool aimed perfectly and popped each one. "Alright, perfect you guys. Now you're all tired and so am I so I'm calling it a day," Misty finally concluded the training and trudged off to bed. Her Pokemon stopped their attacks, finished their laps, and went to their separate areas to rest.

Misty finally collapsed into bed concluding a productive day and allowed herself to look forward to the future. For the time being things were finally falling into place.

* * *

**Yes, I updated finally and I'm sorry for taking so long, but I got things together and I have been posting other stories so I haven't been completely inactive. I know this chapter didn't seem to have a lot of action, but this set up most of the major events which will come up later in the story. The gym leader change, Misty's ability to leave, the Pokemon League, the gym leader gathering, and of course Ash is being forced to confront his feelings to an extent. **

**In the show it was always Misty worrying about her feelings while Ash was working on becoming the Pokemon master right now it's the other way around. Misty's trying to get work done and Brock is forcing Ash to open up emotionally. **

**I swear things will pick up and then everything will fall into place, adventure, drama, and romance of course.**

**Not much was introduced this chapter so I will postpone the trivia, but I swear it will be back next chapter when new things start coming. **

**Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed it.**

* * *

**Misty's Pokemon in the Gym**

-Politoad

-Starmie

-Psyduck

-Corsola

-Slowbro

-Gyrados

-Staryu

-Seadra

-Seaking

-Tentacool

-Kingler

-Cloyster

-Caserin

-Azumarill

-Dewgong

-Jigglypuff

-Various Pokemon mainly used for shows

**Ash's Pokemon on hand**

-Pikachu

-Charizard

-Pidgeot

-?

-?

-?


	13. Chapter 13: Crushing Confusion

**Chapter 13: Confusion and Crushing**

**Please Enjoy,**

POV (Misty)

"Like, why do you get to go the Orange islands?" Lily moaned when Misty told her about the gym leader gathering.

"You do realize you three left me alone multiple times to travel around the world," Misty replied looking at all three of her sisters. She only allowed a bit of venom to seep into her tone, but her sisters did have the good grace to look abashed.

"I think it's a good idea to go," Daisy spoke up trying to be the voice of reason like usual. "So who are you taking with you?" She asked catching Misty by surprise.

Misty hadn't even thought about taking a guest, it wasn't mandatory, but usually gym leaders took people who worked in their gym and one personal guest. Unlike Misty a good amount of the high ranking gyms had administrators to deal with paperwork and the legal aspects as well as gym trainers. She figured both she and the gym were reaching the point where she couldn't do all the work herself.

The other options would be someone they were personally training to take over the gym when they eventually left, Koga had always brought his daughter. A few gym leaders took their significant others or friends, but they usually stayed out of the way during the official proceedings.

"Are you going to take your little boyfriend?" Violet asked casually taking a moment to observe her nails. Without asking knew she was referring to Ash, who they rarely called by name.

"His name is Ash and he's not my boyfriend," Misty reminded her for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Oh, so you are taking him," Lily jumped into the conversation.

"I never said that," Misty had learned to deal with her sisters so she kept most of her irritation at bay.

"Whatever you still need to get someone to go with you," Violet pointed out lazily gesturing to Misty.

Although Misty didn't need anyone to go with her she did consider the idea and asking Ash certainly didn't sound like a bad plan. She wasn't too worried that he would say 'no', the idea of being around friends and skilled trainers would probably be too tempting, she hoped spending time with her was also a reason to go.

Of course another thought struck her, Brock wouldn't be invited because his gym was temporarily closed down. It would probably be the right thing to do to invite him, plus he'd be happy to see his friends from the various gyms. When she and Brock first set out with Ash they didn't really know the gym leaders very well because he hadn't been a serious gym leader for too long and she hadn't taken over the gym yet.

She mulled it over and decided she would talk to Brock first and see what he wanted to do.

* * *

Misty offhandedly realized she had spending a lot of time traveling by bus recently. She made a random mental note to find a large Pelipper to help her fly so she could avoid public transport, not she minded it much. Soon enough she found herself back in Pewter city and made her way to Brock's current abode. She had texted him ahead of time so she didn't feel worried about knocking on the front door without technically being invited.

After a few moments the door opened and Brock welcomed her in with a sweep of his arm. "Hey Misty, you said you wanted to talk about something an upcoming Gym Leader gathering." It was a statement, but it came out closer to a question.

"Yeah, I wanted to tell you that the Pokemon League is holding another gathering for the gym leaders from Kanto and Johto in the Orange Islands. I know since your gym isn't active you aren't getting an invite, but I came to see if you wanted be my plus 1. If anyone deserves to go it's you, but I know your busy so I wanted to be able to talk in person to discuss it rather than just call," Misty quickly said her piece and waited for Brock's response.

"I'd love to go, but I really do need to take care of things here," he sighed sounding depressed at the prospect of not being able to go and Misty didn't blame him. "How long is it going on for?" Brock asked, Misty could see him weighing his options.

"Probably a week possibly longer, but if you want you could catch a plane and leave earlier," Misty offered.

Brock didn't speak for a few moments merely humming finally he answered, "I'll check with my family to see if they mind me going off for a little while

"You deserve a vacation," Misty reminded him referring to all the work he'd been doing recently.

"Why don't you ask Ash? I know he'd love to go."

"If anyone should go to a gym leader related event it would be you so I wanted to ask you first. Although I can probably lie just a little bit and say your coming as an advisor not a guest, which means I can still bring Ash without breaking any rules. We can bring gym members and administrators if we want and technically I'll be asking you to look in on my gym every so often, so it's really not too much of a stretch," Misty shrugged.

"By that logic, you could bring your sisters as well," Brock said trying not to sound hopeful about the idea of spending time with her sisters.

"Actually your mom would be welcome too," Misty mentioned, "it would probably good experience for her."

"If she goes I have to stay, my dad can't take of the kids alone," Brock was firm and Misty knew there wouldn't be a point so she came up with a different option.

"Why don't you come for a few days and when you go back home your mother can come to the gathering for the rest of the time? That way you can see everyone and get some information before the gym opens again, your mother gets a bit of knowledge, and your father is never alone," Misty offered up what she considered a pretty decent plan, all things considered.

"That could work," Brock said almost under his breath, speaking up he replied, "I'll check with my family and you can ask Ash. We'll figure the specifics out later."

"Perfect," Misty managed to restrain a squeal because things were finally falling into place. "Do you know where Ash is?" she asked realizing she didn't know where to look.

"He was out back by the forest, I think he was either training or looking for Pokemon," Brock pointed out a window in the general direction.

"Got it, I'll see you in a bit," Misty walked away with a spring in her step. After all her work she was finally going to get some time to relax and with any luck it would be with two of her best friends.

* * *

POV (Ash)

"Ash," a distinctly female voice called to him. He berated himself for being so caught up in his worrying that he was hallucinating. Unfortunately when Pikachu greeted the source of the voice Ash was forced to realize he wasn't hallucinating. Instead of a real response he just made a choking sound and half panicked.

"Ash can I talk to you?" Misty asked from somewhere behind Ash and he froze. Nobody had told him Misty would be coming back so quickly and all he could think about was his conversation with Brock.

"Um, I'm not sure I'm really busy," Ash lied, which he was bad at during the best of times. Now it sounded completely unbelievable especially considering he was standing around clearly not doing anything.

Ash turned around just in time for Misty to ask, "With what?" She raised an eyebrow at his odd behavior.

"Just stuff," Ash gestured aimlessly with his right hand, Pikachu sat with Jigglypuff, who arrived with Misty, a few feet away looking confused as well.

"Well, this is important so just hold on before you do your stuff," Misty put one hand on her hip looking at him intently.

"What is it about?" Ash asked his voice still a bit weak, but he was hoping for the best.

"Well, I already talked to Brock about it," Misty started to speak, but after just a few words Ash felt a shiver go through his body.

Ash felt his muscles tense he was positive she was going to confront him about his conversation with Brock. A few thoughts flew through his mind first he was going to kill Brock, second he didn't know how to have this conversation, and third he was terrified. So in his mind it made sense that the first thing he did was run away calling over his shoulder, "I don't want to talk now."

"Wait, Ash," Misty called to him as Ash made his escape. He felt bad, but he wasn't sure what he would say to Misty, did he like her yes, but he wasn't sure exactly in what way. Even more worrying was what her reaction was going to be. He was sure that Brock would keep it between them, he had no idea why he would tell Misty, unless he was seriously trying to push this along hoping for the best. That didn't seem like him though, Ash sighed relieved for his momentary reprieve from Misty.

"Ash what is wrong with you?" Misty asked from right behind him her tone changing to the first signs of anger, but there was plenty of confusion mixed in. He hated how in shape she was from all the swimming, running away wasn't going to work.

"I just don't want to talk to you about anything right now," Ash realized how immature he sounded, but he was lost and about a minute away from calling Charizard out to fly him away.

"Do you even know what I'm talking about, did you talk to Brock before I got here?" Misty asked looking confused.

"Of course I did," Ash said exasperatedly.

"So you know what I'm trying to talk about and you won't consider it? Misty asked her voice growing angrier and the confusion was starting to fade.

"What's there to consider? I just know, I'm not ready to discuss this," Ash wasn't sure which direction she meant when she said considering it.

"You're so immature sometimes," Misty looked up at the sky and tried to keep herself from truly getting upset.

"And you're really pushy and annoying, why did you even bring this up so suddenly?" Ash felt himself getting angry simply because that was an easier emotion to handle and Misty was pushing.

"How was I supposed to bring it up?" Misty asked her hands clenched into fists, the insults pushing her far closer to her breaking point than she had been.

"I don't know ease into it or wait for me to say something," Ash ran his hand through his hair.

"What does that mean, ease into it? We don't have forever. You know what, consider the invitation rescinded," Misty said finally done with whatever this discussion was about which Ash was getting a feeling wasn't about what he thought.

"The what? What kind of invitation were you offering?" Ash wasn't sure if that was her crazy way of asking him on a date.

"I was going to tell you about the gym leader convention, I'm going to in the Orange Islands. I'll make sure to say hi to all the gym leaders who gave you pity badges and I'm sure Rudy will love to hang out," she replied in a false cheery tone that was laced with venom and quite possibly the potential for violence if he kept angering her.

Ash bristled at her words, although he realized they were talking about completely different things he was still angry. He couldn't accept the invitation or whatever to the convention now so all he just bit back, "I really don't care what you do, so go right on ahead."

"Fine I will and I'll find someone else to go with me," Misty turned to walk away, but before she left she added sarcastically, "Thanks Ash for disliking the idea of going on a vacation so much that you didn't even give me the chance to ask." Ash didn't miss the undertone of hurt, but she and Jigglypuff were gone by the time he gathered himself enough to say anything.

He hated how stubborn he was, how stubborn they both were, but he knew that he was in the wrong there wasn't really any way to ignore that. He was just scared he wasn't an emotional person, or rather he didn't know how to handle emotions, and he didn't want to deal with them especially not something so deeply personal.

Pikachu who had been largely quiet lowly said, "pika," in a subdued tone.

"I know buddy, I guess I should apologize, right?" Ash looked up at Pikachu after sighing.

Pikachu nodded his head in affirmation and led the way back to Brock's house. Ash stepped in the door knowing he'd be allowed in and found it quiet, "Brock are you in here?" Ash asked looking around.

He heard a sigh and Brock walked over to him from the kitchen and simply asked, "What did you do this time?"

"W-what do you mean?" Ash asked not knowing why he was bothering.

"Misty came in said you were an idiot and that she was leaving," Brock said pointedly, "she seemed angrier than I've seen her in a long time."

Ash groaned at the fact that he would have to relay the story knowing that it sounded it stupid once he went over it in his head. "So it's like this..." he went through the recent events.

"Misty was right, you are an idiot," Brock's voice didn't hold any of the anger that Misty's had, but he seemed disappointed.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Do you have any good advice?" Ash looked at him in desperation.

"You tend not to listen to my advice so I'm not sure what you want me to tell you," Brock frowned.

"I don't know, tell me something encouraging or some way to get Misty to forgive me. I mean I know this was my fault, but you made me paranoid and when she mentioned talking to you I got scared," Ash admitted.

"You could tell her the truth," Brock replied pointing out what was the simplest option and likely the most effective, but the one Ash didn't want to consider.

"I know, but what if she get's mad? What if she decides she hates me because I like her or it makes things weird between us?" Ash asked running his hands through his hair and didn't realize he finally said out loud that he did like Misty.

"I can't speak for Misty, but I highly doubt that'll happen, even if Misty doesn't reciprocate your feelings she won't be mad at you. You two have been friends too long to let something like romantic interest ruin your friendship," Brock reassured Ash resting a hand on his shoulder.

* * *

POV (Misty)

Misty was seething the entire trip home which led to people giving her wide breadth on the bus, she couldn't believe Ash. This was the last thing she thought would happen and she didn't think he'd be so horrible about turning her down. It wasn't like she was talking about anything life changing, her anger hadn't abated by the time she made it to the gym.

Her sisters could see boiling anger in her expression and body language as she stomped into the gym, knowing she was being overly dramatic, but she was too mad to care.

"Um, what happened to you," Lily asked recoiling slightly when Misty's glare turned onto her. Thankfully Misty knew who she was upset with and calmed herself in front of her sisters who were all looking at her with undisguised fear and worry.

"It's Ash he's an idiot," Misty ground out unable to push away her anger.

"Ooh, what's the story?" Violet looked interested, but the expression fled when Misty's glare came back in full force.

"This is what happened..." Misty recanted her tale as honestly as she could trying not to let anger color the conversation and change it.

"I would totally break up with my boyfriend if he was such a jerk," Violet looked angry on Misty's behalf which Misty was thankful for, she didn't want to be the only person who thought Ash was insensitive.

"Violet, your last boyfriend was a jerk," Daisy reminded her reminding Misty of the idiot she used to date.

"Well he's my ex now, and that's the point right?" Violet cocked her head.

"Is that really the point?" Misty asked gesturing to herself.

"Oh, right your problem. I say just go without him give him some time to feel bad without you there," Lily offered her plan, "If he doesn't miss you, just break up. If he does miss you more than you miss him you win."

The plan was fine, but Misty didn't want to look at it as a game to win. Regardless she still planned to win, whatever game she and Ash were playing now.

* * *

Yes, I have finally posted another chapter and I'm sorry it took so long for whatever reason I couldn't get into writing this for a long time, instead I wrote my other stories in some other fandoms and had fun, but I feel the creative juices starting to flow so don't worry it won't be multiple months before I post another chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one, I know a fight is rarely fun, but it was necessary. Plus I think Misty needs to get away from Ash for a bit and get back to herself (This is Misty's Story), but don't worry too much things tend to work themselves out eventually.

Please review and let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**Pokemon on Hand**

**Ash:** Unchanged from previous chapter

**Misty: **Unchanged from last chapter

* * *

**Trivia** (Sorry if there's any overlap with other chapters, I lose track)

-The Orange islands are actually named the Orange Archipelago

-The Pokemon on the Orange islands often have different colors than their counterparts across the world due to the climate.

-Most of Ash's badges were given to him rather than actually won, hence Misty's line "Pity badges"

-Rudy was an Orange Island Gym Leader and had a crush on Misty, which he made apparent making Ash angry.

-He asked her to stay on the island with him and in the Japanese version he asked her to marry him. She eventually turned him down to stay with Ash and Brock. Rudy realized she cared for Ash and told him he was a lucky guy, Ash of course didn't realize why.

-The group visited thirty three islands during their travels in the Orange islands (I'm not 100% sure, but I think that's right)


	14. Chapter 14: Dance with Me

**Chapter 14**

**Updated: Feb. 3rd**

Please Enjoy,

It was only a week from when she first told Brock about the gathering until the train was set to arrive and she tried to be productive. The gym would be closed so she just had to get things in order to the point where her sisters could effectively take care of the Pokemon. She also wanted to get some training in with the Pokemon she planned to bring with her. Battles occasionally were held between gym leaders and she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her colleagues. If someone challenged her, she wanted to be able to represent the Cerulean Gym in the way it deserved.

The gatherings were also a hot ground for Pokemon trading it didn't matter which regions were meeting or where they were doing so. There were always pokemon either from a part of their own region that weren't in their area or pokemon in an entirely different region that people wanted to raise. So trading was a major event and Misty wanted to have enough Pokemon to be able to trade without giving away her main Pokemon.

It seemed a bit bad to catch pokemon with the intention of trading them away, but all the gym leaders would treat their Pokemon well so it wasn't like she was subjecting them to a life of pain.

So she took a quick trip training her Pokemon while she searched for new ones. It went well in her opinion and luckily she'd had just enough time to get her recently caught Pokemon used to being trained. She couldn't use them in major battles, but a talented trainer could unlock their potential, that much she was confident about. She couldn't say her own Pokemon got much stronger, but it was only a few days and she was more interested in them fighting in different environments against different opponents.

Misty made it home late in the afternoon the day before she was set to leave and immediately was berated by her sisters. "Misty you should have packed already, like you need good clothes," Violet grabbed her arm and started dragging her to her room. Misty accepted the fact that she probably should have started packing, so she allowed herself to be pulled.

"Lucky for you we already did it," Lily stood in the middle of Misty's room next to a giant suitcase filled with clothing. Misty groaned knowing her sisters would have filled it with clothes she wouldn't normally wear. Now she would have to spend the time she would have spent packing, unpacking.

When she woke up the morning she was set to leave she couldn't help her excitement. She wasn't sure what she'd learn or who she'd meet, but there really was a world of opportunities when she was surrounded by so many talented and experienced trainers. Plus she would get to spend time at a resort in the orange islands which certainly had its own perks and Brock would be there. She hadn't heard from Ash, but Misty had managed to push him out of her thoughts for the most part, she had more important things to think about.

Once the taxi she called arrived and she finally started riding to the dock she called Brock to check on his progress. "Hey Brock, I just left the Gym. How far along are you?" Misty asked when Brock picked up.

"I'm almost there and my mom is excited that she'll be able to go later," Brock responded sounding slightly tired out by his mother.

"I can imagine," Misty laughed, "I'll see you soon, Bye." Misty leaned back in her seat and let her eyes close trying to think of everyone who would be there. She wanted to make sure she remembered the names of the gym leaders she didn't see often to avoid any awkward encounters. Of course she didn't know all the Johto leaders and a few of the Kanto leaders she'd never met, but she'd heard of most of the Kanto leaders and could probably figure out who they were.

Before she knew it the dock and the boat she and Brock would be traveling on came into view. Once the taxi came to a halt she paid the driver, slung her bag over her shoulder, and grabbed her suitcase, which was quite heavy. She was half dragging it when suddenly it was lifted by strong arms, she glanced over to see Brock by her side. "Thanks, Brock," she fell into step with him as he started approaching the cruise ship, carrying her luggage quite easily.

"No problem. I think being chivalrous is ingrained in me after all my attempts to impress women, not that it really works," Brock replied managing to shrug despite the load he was carrying.

"Well I'm sure you'll find someone someday and she will be a very lucky lady," Misty patted his shoulder before opening her drawstring bag checking that she had everything she would need on hand.

For the most part the boat ride was smooth, but as they rode past Johto Misty saw a group of wingull flying through the air and immediately cheered getting the attention of a few of the other passengers. She coughed and blushed at her reaction, but she had hoping to catch a Wingull or Pelipper for a while. Not wanting to miss her opportunity she sent out Starmie in an attempt to catch at least one. "Starmie use hydro pump at the group," Misty commanded pointing at the center of the small flock.

Starmie immediately complied and the attack struck most of them a though few managed to dodge the blast. After the attack most immediately flew away, but one of the larger ones turned towards her. Misty threw a Pokeball hoping to get it done quickly, but with a gust of wind it went flying back at her. "Starmie use swift," Misty called out and a burst of stars flew at the Wingull who valiantly tried to dodge them using agility, but after avoiding them a few times they finally struck the Seagull Pokemon. "Finish it with thundershock." Starmie glowed for a few seconds before a bolt of electricity flew towards Wingull.

It managed to avoid the attack, but Misty used the distraction to throw the Pokeball again managing to strike it this time. "Use Psychic so the ball doesn't fall into the water," Misty said once the ball stopped flashing and started dropping from the sky. Misty placed the ball in her bag and listened as a few passengers clapped, she thanked them and Starmie for a job well done.

* * *

The rest of the trip was far less eventful and time seemed to pass quickly until they arrived at the island. She spent the time looking at the ocean and enjoying the view provided. It was gorgeous and she wished she'd remembered to keep her camera on hand, but it was too late to worry.

They weren't given much time to acclimate once they arrived at the island, they were hustled into the fancy hotel and given their rooms. Misty wasn't shocked at the treatment, the League wanted to get their event underway and the boat was on the late end of arrival.

Without much preamble she showered and quickly prepared herself, pulling on a flattering black formal dress and applying a bit of make-up before deeming herself acceptable.

It was the standard to have a large ball for the leaders to gather and socialize, during this ball a time period would be allocated to dancing. It was a simple ballroom dance where the various partygoers switched between partners so they spent a bit of time with multiple people, the waltz was normally a formal dance, but with the random dance partners it often descended into something closer to a joke, especially once people started getting into the alcohol. Nobody took it seriously so when an old man ended up being tugged around by a young person they took it in stride. Misty knew in the past Agatha in particular had fun dancing with younger men who humored her.

The entire dance was meant to foster conversation between people and stood as the ultimate icebreaker. As long as nobody allowed it to become awkward it was fine and actually quite fun. Once Misty arrived the music had just started up and people were already getting onto the dance floor. Misty spotted Brock, who surprisingly hadn't jumped at the first chance to grab a girl to dance with.

Misty quickly moved to him and tugged Brock onto the dance floor so she had a bit of time to prepare herself before she was twirled into dancing with people she knew to varying degrees. She could see that Brock seemed very pleased with the idea of getting to dance with the many young female gym leaders and she was more amused than annoyed at his interest. She couldn't really blame him, everyone looked their best in anticipation of seeing people they knew. Even she was looking forward to being swept off her feet by a young man for a little while. She blatantly ignored the niggling thought that it would have been nice to have Ash be that man and instead scanned the crowd recognizing quite a few familiar faces.

She saw a pair separate near her and they turned towards her and Brock as they split. Before they made it over she whispered to Brock, "Just don't come on too strong." Thankfully Brock merely held out his hand and greeted the young woman before stepping back into the dance.

The woman's partner who stepped up to her was a boy she recognized vaguely. It took her a moment, but she realized he was from a different part of Kanto. His name was Blaze the son of a gym leader, but last time she remembered his father still ran the gym, they specialized in fire-types from what she remembered. "Hi, Misty," he greeted her in a high pitched voice, "Would you like to dance?"

"Of course," she replied to the smaller male, she last saw him a bit over a year ago when he was only seven. "So how is your training going?" She asked the boy who she thought looked adorable in his little suit.

"Great, soon I'll be strong enough to take over the gym," he sounded confident, but Misty knew from experience it took a lot of work. Hopefully he'd have more time to be a kid and enjoy it, she knew he would appreciate it later.

She allowed him to awkwardly try to take her around the room despite the height difference and chatted with him. Soon enough Blaze walked over to Jasmine the steel-type leader and Chuck stepped back turning to Misty. "Hey Misty how're ya?" he boomed.

"I'm good," Misty replied not necessarily intimidated by the older man, but she felt dwarfed. He was a large man physically and had a personality to match. However she knew he was harmless so she relaxed and took his outstretched hand.

"Great, let's dance my wife thinks it's good exercise. Look at me I've lost weight," he told her while tugging her ungracefully into an odd dance that seemed a few beats off the music. Misty found herself laughing slightly and just allowed herself to have some fun.

It wasn't long before they tripped their way over to two other dancers. One of whom she recognized as Bruno the fighting type leader of the Elite Four, she remembered when she spent a bit of time with him alongside Ash and Brock. He seemed serious, but had his goofy moments, still she respected him greatly as she did all the Elite four members.

Chuck was even more excited to see Bruno and Misty wasn't surprised. Chuck was a fighting type specialist and he was standing in front of a Master-class fighting trainer and a member of the Elite four. He was basically what every fighting type trainer aspired to be, so despite Chuck being older he seemed almost in awe of the muscular man. "Bruno great to see ya," he almost yelled and shook his hand a bit more violently than necessary, "Do you want to dance?"

Bruno took it in stride and simply responded, "I was planning on dancing with my acquaintance Misty, but find me later tonight and we can talk." Misty was impressed that he managed to keep cool in the face of a gigantic fan.

Once again Misty found herself dancing with a large man, but Bruno was surprisingly gentle and quite fluid in comparison to Chuck. "I suppose we're lucky this event required us to dress up, otherwise you would have been dancing with a shirtless Chuck," Bruno remarked casually. Misty couldn't hide the brief look of horror that crossed her face and Bruno didn't miss it, he laughed the sound reverberating in his chest close to Misty's ear. "It's nice to see you again Misty. I heard you've been doing well for yourself and the gym," he gave her light praise.

"It's nice to see you too and thank you, I've been trying my best." She struggled to look up and meet his eyes.

"As an elite four member I have to keep track of the gyms and I'm glad things are going well. I honestly was worried for Cerulean while your sisters were in charge," He replied with a smile.

"So was I, but I felt like I needed to explore when I was younger," Misty tried to rationalize why she allowed the gym to fall so ungracefully.

"Speaking of that, how are my two disciples doing? I'm fairly sure I saw Brock earlier in the night even though his gym is closed, is Ash here as well?" Misty saw his eyes quickly move around the room resting on someone, who she assumed was Brock.

"I brought Brock along because I think he deserved to be here despite his gym being closed," Misty didn't let her annoyance at the league show and it seemed Bruno agreed with her sentiment

He nodded,"I think so too, but the rule was already in place. Perhaps I'll convince the league to look into changing it a bit. And Ash how is he doing?"

"He's fine, he's back at his home," Misty wasn't sure if her tone changed, but apparently Bruno chose not to comment or ask further about him which Misty appreciated. Ash wasn't exactly who she wanted on her mind.

"I believe our dance is coming to a close," Bruno said turning to see another pair moving twirling their way. "Have a nice night, Misty."

Bruno bent slightly so he could dance with Agatha who released her partner. "Show me your moves Bruno," she said reaching up and Misty watched them start to dance with fascination.

"Good luck grandma," a voice said and when Misty turned to see who spoke she saw Morty watching the pair fondly. "So, Misty can I interest you in a dance?" He held his hand out and Misty took it lightly allowing him to pull her in close. "How have you been? It's been a few years since we saw each other."

"I've been doing well, what about you, Morty?" She asked looking at the Ghost type specialist. She silently admitted he was quite attractive, but had an odd air about him. It was faint, but something almost cold seemed to be following them. His hands were surprisingly warm and because of the chill she could feel the heat of his body.

"Good," he started to speak, but trailed off looking at something behind Misty. He didn't stop dancing, but he seemed to fade out for a few moments.

Misty hesitated before asking, "Um, is something wrong?" Morty blinked seemingly coming back to himself before shaking his head.

"Sorry, that happens sometimes." He apologized spinning her around. "Do you want to get some air?" he gestured with a nod of his head to the large balcony where a few people were relaxing.

Misty would've liked to keep dancing, but she wasn't going to tug him around if he didn't want to. "Alright, but you owe me a dance," she smiled and the ghost trainer sighed in relief.

"Deal. I had to dance with Whitney which was exhausting," he smiled letting go of her hand for a second. Before either of them could start moving he was half shoved out of the way by a boy she didn't recognize.

"Let's dance," it wasn't really a request because the new entrant started pulling her away leaving Morty staring after them in surprise. He was big, but more of it was fat than muscle and appeared to be a few years older than her.

Misty wasn't going to let this guy do whatever he want, but she wanted to find out who it was before she shoved him off. "Who are you?" She wasn't particularly polite about it, but she felt justified in her annoyance.

"Andel, I'm from Johto my father's a league official so he brought me along and I deserve it. I made it all the way to the elite four," he sounded far to proud of himself and Misty was turned off by his attitude.

"Good for you, now you have three seconds to let me go," Misty warned trying to extract herself from his grip.

"Why? We can have a lot of fun together," he leered at her and leaned in far closer than Misty would have liked. She couldn't stop herself from recoiling and wished she still had the mallet she had as a child.

Before she could kick him and smooth deep voice sounded from their side,"May I have the next dance?" he asked politely, but his tone was sharp.

"Yes," Misty said managing to pull away from Andel while he was distracted, the man probably noticed her distress which she was extremely thankful for. It wasn't as if she tried to hide her revulsion, she was just happy someone was nearby.

"Wonderful," he took her hands much more lightly and led her away from the younger man glaring daggers at their backs. "So, you're Misty. I've heard quite a bit about you. I'm glad to meet you in person," he smoothly guided her through the crowd.

He seemed nice enough, but Misty got a slight feeling of danger from the man although she couldn't place why. He was tall and looked to be in his thirties with broad shoulder. There were a few fine lines on his face, but she only noticed because their proximity. He looked like a suave man and it wasn't his expression, which was genial, that made her nervous so she couldn't figure out what it was. It was somewhat similar to the cold air she felt around Morty, but unlike with Morty she felt the need to be on guard.

However she couldn't study him for long without it being apparent so she focused on the other thing she was wondering about, why he was so interested in her. "What have you heard?" Misty asked casually still moving in tandem with him.

"Only good things I assure you, Delia is very fond of you," he responded easily, "Besides an up and coming gym leader such as yourself is of interest to me especially because the close proximity of our gyms."

"Wait you know Delia?" Misty blurted out barely taking the time to process the rest of his statement.

"Yes, I'm Giovanni the Leader of the Viridian Gym. I met Delia when we were still young and we were quite close. We reconnected recently and she told me about her son and his friends," Giovanni explained briefly. Misty wondered if he was the man Delia had been spending time with, but brushed the thought away for the time being in favor of asking a few more questions.

"You're the gym leader who took leave for a few years and disappeared," Misty said voicing it somewhere between a question and a statement. She remembered hearing about a five-star gym leader from Viridian suddenly leaving his post. She had no idea what happened afterwards, but apparently Giovanni decided it was time to return.

"Correct, I decided to come back before I was replaced. The league was being quite accommodating, but I suppose they would have had to fill my spot if I didn't return at some point," he replied, but Misty felt there was something he wasn't saying. It wasn't her place to grill him so she allowed the suspicion to pass, his business was his own. He looked like he was going to add something, but stopped when he saw something over Misty's shoulder.

"Is something wrong?"Misty asked surprised at his sudden pause, although she couldn't see what was happening behind her back. His jaw tightened and a glare started to form on his face.

"It looks like that punk from before got into a fight and Delia is trying to diffuse things," he released Misty's hands and started making his way towards the commotion that Misty could now see. Misty assumed the punk was Andel and quickly followed Giovanni.

She realized after she started trailing after him that he'd brought Delia with him as a guest, but a sense of worry overcame her happiness at seeing another familiar face. When she came close enough to clearly see what was happening she saw Brock standing in front of a girl blocking her from Andel with Delia by his side with her arms crossed. She could only guess that they were somehow trying to protect the fallen girl from Andel, but Misty wasn't sure how it reached that point.

Giovanni who had managed to get well away from her with his long strides picked up what was happening and immediately chose to step in.

Misty reached the crowd just in time to see him face down the angry trainer. Misty could tell Giovanni was mad, but the complete sense of calm he displayed was almost unnerving. "What's happening here?" Giovanni asked deliberately, his voice dropping lower as he leaned towards the younger trainer who looked frightened before anger took it over.

"I was trying to dance with that girl," he pointed a finger at the frightened girl, "and she tried to turn me down. When I insisted she freaked out and that old lady decided to step in." He moved his hand to point at Delia who looked indignant.

"You can't manhandle any girl you want, you pig," Delia responded with more bite in her voice than Misty had heard before. She'd never truly seen Ash's mother angry, although Ash mentioned she was terrifying when she was angry at someone.

"You need to be taken down a few pegs," Giovanni said still keeping himself restrained to an extent, but Misty could already see the beginning of anger creeping into him.

"And what, you think you're going to be the one to do it?" Andel growled out trying to seem tough and his bluster seemed to calm Giovanni down and almost amuse him.

"Yes," Giovanni stated simply looking at the other male as if he was merely a child which only served to aggravated him further. "You aren't a gym leader are you?" he asked.

"No, I'm a trainer and I made it to the Elite Four-," Andel started to speak puffing out his chest as he spoke.

"And failed," Giovanni supplied for him.

He growled out, "Point is I defeated plenty of gym leaders in Johto, what makes you think some out of practice gym leader is going to be able to compare to me?"

Giovanni smirked, "I'm just glad Johto doesn't have any gym leaders as deplorable as you. Trust me kid I won't have trouble keeping up with you, despite not participating in many gym battles recently. Before we battle it's only fair that you know I specialize in ground type, so be prepared not that it'll help you."

"Alright let's go," Andel said turning on his heels and leading them to one of the designated battlegrounds. It was a fairly neutral one with rock flooring and a few boulders lying around two Pokemon Transport Systems stood on either end of the room so the trainers could access all their Pokemon to choose the ones they'd be using during the battle.

* * *

**A/N**

I'm sorry this took so long to put out, but I would have had it finished much earlier if it wasn't for the issues I'm having with my computer. I actually wrote this and am posting it from a public computer.

In an unrelated note I am glad that I got to bring Giovanni in, he'll obviously play a role in the next chapters and then pop in and out of the story after that. Just to let you know another member of Team Rocket will be appearing at some point in the next few chapters. I'll probably edit this chapter later if I catch any mistakes, but I hope you enjoy it. Let me know your thoughts in a review.

**February 3rd**: I just finished editing and I realized this chapter was quite messy and I didn't catch flaws that I normally should have. I apologize for that and cleaned things up. I added a bit to help things flow a bit more easily, I realized there was an odd gap between the boat ride and the actual ball with very little explanation of what happened in between.


	15. Chapter 15

**Please enjoy, **

POV Misty

Giovanni didn't take much time to think before tapping on the keys teleporting a few Pokeballs to himself. Andel seemed to be taking longer to look through his Pokemon. Misty guessed he was looking at which Pokemon would be best against Ground types, Giovanni's specialty. After Andel made his choices and switched his Pokemon out he took his place on the far end of the room Giovanni said something to Delia before calmly walking to his own designated place. Misty walked with Delia to sit in the stands with the rest of the party goers.

"Do you think he'll win," Misty whispered to Delia without looking away from the two who were about to begin.

"Trust me he'll be fine," Delia replied in a pleased tone, Misty could tell there wasn't an ounce of doubt in her so she decided to trust Giovanni as well.

"Nidoking, let's teach him a lesson," Giovanni said releasing the large Pokemon who landed with a roar. Andel threw his Pokeball releasing an exeggutor with a smirk apparently assuming he was going to win.

"Exegutor use energy ball," Andel started the match as quickly as possible it seemed he was going to try striking before Giovanni had time to prepare. Giovanni didn't so much as blink at the move.

"Block it with sludge bomb and follow up with shadow ball," Giovanni commanded in an easy tone. Exegutor's first attack hit sludge bomb leaving a bit of smoke in between the Pokemon, but before the dust had settled a shadow ball slammed into Exegutor knocking it backwards.

"Giga drain," Andel yelled at the recovering pokemon.

"Nidoking is part poison type, grass isn't super effective. Run through it Nidoking get close," Giovanni commanded and Nidoking followed orders taking damage from the attack, but not enough to slow it as it approached. "You should focus on the psychic attacks you have, they'll be stronger," Giovanni suggested.

"Psychic," Andel took the advice simply because he didn't seem to have ant other plan of action. Taking someone else's advice mid-battle didn't bode well for Andel who didn't seem to know much about his Pokemon.

"Just because I gave you advice doesn't mean I won't counter it," Giovanni half laughed, "Use protect then destroy it with poison jab. The psycich attack struck his barrier, but all it resulted in was Nidoking sliding backwards a few feet. Immediatly after Nidoking continued its charge and smashed into the other Pokemon. Executor was hit in its stomach and lifted off the ground and flew back a bit before landing hard. The Pokemon didn't rise and was declared unable to battle. Nidoking returned to his original position and Andel threw out another Pokemon.

"That can't possibly be all you've got, is it?" Giovanni smirked while waiting for Andel's next Pokemon.

"Poliwrath let's go," Andel growled thrown off by losing and Giovanni's casual tone.

"Good choice your water advantage isn't countered by Nidoking's poison type and Poliwrath isn't weak to poison or ground," Giovanni complemented Andel, but the mocking tone only served to further anger the younger male.

"Don't make fun of me," Andel yelled turning red, his hands were clenched as he glared at the gym leader.

"I wasn't, but I will defeat you," Giovanni made a point of smiling haughtily.

Misty could tell Giovanni was used to being in a position of power over other's, he was toying with the angered trainer. Misty couldn't exactly fault him because Andel deserved it, but somehow it served to convince her that Giovanni was a dangerous individual.

"Poliwrath use hydropump," Andel continued yelling.

"Before he has a chance use Earth power," Giovanni's measured tone was a complete contrast to Andel's lack of control.

Nidoking slammed the ground sending energy crashing upwards from just below Poliwrath's feet throwing his attack off target allowing Nidoking to escape relatively undamaged. The water struck its shoulder and though it flinched momentarily there was no indication that it was truly injured.

"Use takedown to get close," Giovanni yelled and Nidoking started sprinting towards Poliwrath ducking its head to gain more speed, using a similar tactic as before. Each step crushed the ground beneath its feet as it charged at the water type.

Poliwrath had recovered by this point enough to comply when its trainer yelled, "Dynamic punch."

"Don't stop Nidoking," Giovanni didn't attempt to dodge the attack instead the Pokemon collided. Poliwrath was launched backwards and hit the wall behind Andel. Nidoking stumbled back and fell to the ground. For a few moments neither Pokemon moved, but Nidoking slowly struggled back to its feet. "Nidoking return, you've done enough."

"Do you want to keep going or have you learned a lesson?" Giovanni asked Andel who had gripped another Pokeball. "Don't be so cocky next time and leave women alone until you learn manners."

Andel cursed under his breath, but didn't move to stop Giovanni as he walked away.

"You weren't even the one I was arguing with, maybe you should stop butting into people's business," Andel shot back before Giovanni had completely left the battle ground.

Delia walked out of the viewing area and stepped next to Giovanni before challenging Andel, "Fine I'll take you down myself. I might not be a gym leader, but I can tell you don't have a bond with your Pokemon. I'm not afraid of you." Misty was surprised at her confidence, but very impressed.

"I expected no less from you, but if you plan on running into battle perhaps it's time I return an old friend to you," Giovanni pulled a pokeball off his belt and tossed it to her.

Delia lit up apparently she knew what it was far before anyone else she threw the ball up and a Nidoqueen stood in front of her. Immediately Delia threw herself into a hug with the drill Pokemon, "Queenie, I've missed you." Misty noticed two things first the obvious bond between Delia and the Nidoqueen and it's large size. She was fairly sure Nidoqueen on average were only a bit over four feet tall, but this one seemed almost six feet tall. In most cases she would have found it intimidating if it wasn't hugging a woman and seemed remarkably emotional.

"Alright Queenie let's take him down," Delia turned to look at Andel who was looking remarkably less cocky looking at the Nidoqueen staring him down.

"You can't borrow Pokemon," Andel quickly tried to point out, not wanting to face the Nidoqueen.

"First, I was merely returning her Pokemon she asked me to take care of and those aren't your Pokemon to start with. I know you didn't catch them, your father is a league official, correct? You're just taking them to use, pathetic," Giovanni looked at him with a healthy amount of contempt.

"Fine I'll destroy your girlfriend," Andel grabbed a pokeball off his belt and flung it out releasing a Machamp.

It was surprising how quickly the battle ended Machamp only managed to attempt a single attack before Delia launched a counter attack. Misty attributed it to how quickly Delia and her Pokemon fell into a rhythm and Nidoqueen's apparent battle experience.

"Nidoqueen, side step, turn parallel, grab it and smash Machamp right into the ground," Delia commanded. Misty watched as Nidoqueen perfectly timed the movement rotating around and grabbing one of Machamp's upper arms before it moved past. She lifted the other Pokemon into the air and smashed it into the ground without releasing it. "Throw it away," Delia said pointing towards the wall. Nidoqueen complied swinging her arm back before launching the other Pokemon away. Her fighting style was unforgiving and calculated even in that short time Misty could see Delia was skilled. It helped that Andel probably only beat the gyms by borrowing powerful Pokemon and taking down the gym leaders without much skill.

Machamp landed hard and didn't move again shortly after the referee announced in a slightly surprised tone, "Machamp is unable to battle, Delia is the winner.

* * *

Rather than actually speak Andel stomped away and after a quick apology from his father he was escorted off the island for creating trouble and harassing guests. Things got back into swing fairly quickly, but Misty decided to take a break and sit at her table rather than dance. It was while resting that she saw a flash of magenta and when she looked closer she saw someone that she was positive was Jessie. She was sporting a different hairstyle and dressed up, but despite not having seen her in a few years she knew it was her.

Rather than make a scene are start yelling she carefully approached the older woman trying to be inconspicuous. She managed to get behind Jessie and tapped her shoulder causing the older woman to turn around. Misty saw the recognition in her eyes and a flash of worry before she managed to bury it. "Jessie what are you doing here?" Misty kept her low.

"It's actually Jessilina, but I'm always happy to run into a fan," she plasted a smile on and quickly dragged Misty away from the crowd to a secluded section of the room. Once they were out of earshot Jessie gave up on pretenses and angrily whispered, "What do you want twerp?"

"What are you doing here?" Misty shot back in an equally venomous voice, doubting she could be there for any decent reason.

"For your information I was invited by the Pokemon league," Jessie smirked haughtily.

"Why on earth would you be invited here?" Misty failed to see any reason anyone would want her here, "And why are you going by Jessilina?"

"As Jessilina I'm a Pokemon coordinator at the top of my game, I'm quite well known in that circle," Jessie frowned at Misty lack of knowledge, "I was invited here because the league is thinking about making me the announcer and host for the Indigo Conference this year."

"Really?" Misty was slightly surprised, but it made sense as to how she got in. It was a fairly exclusive event and someone who wasn't on the guest list would be noticed rather quickly by security.

"Yes, so I'm not doing anything wrong. Don't screw this up for me, this is my big chance to move into the big leagues. I want to be a star and not just in Pokemon contests," Jessie practically had stars in her eyes as she imagined her possible fame.

"Alright, but I'm keeping my eyes on you," Misty spoke in a normal tone. She was happy that nothing was happening she really didn't want to deal with Team Rocket's antics.

"Keep your eyes wherever you want, just don't ruin my future," Jessie threw her straightened hair over her shoulder before stalking away. Misty belatedly realized Jessie actually looked quite beautiful in her dress.

Once she finally got Jessie out of her mind she decided to find Delia and talk to her about what happened earlier. It wasn't hard to find her, Delia stood next to Giovanni talking to a few people including the young girl they helped. When Delia caught sight of Misty she quickly left the crowd leaving them with a few goodbyes. She looked almost relieved to be away from the attention. "Thank you Misty, I was tired of all the attention. I'm glad I helped that girl out, but I didn't expect to have so many people approach me and Gio," Delia shrugged and Misty noted her use of a nickname for Giovanni.

"It's no problem, but that was a really impressive fight. I had no idea you had a Nidoqueen," Misty looked at Delia in a new light.

"Like I said I knew Gio a while back and when I stopped that lifestyle I gave him my Nidoqueen to take care of. She's a fighter by nature and I didn't want her to be stuck with me when I slowed my life down. I'm just happy she's been returned to me," Delia had a far off look in her eyes and Misty gave her a moment to reminisce before interrupting her.

Misty glanced around and saw Giovanni on the other side of the room and she thought he was talking to Jessie, but she wasn't entirely sure. She wanted to look into it, but she'd promised herself not to get involved with Jessie. She didn't need to create any stress for herself based on theories about Team Rocket.

"Anyway is there anything you needed sweetie?" Delia asked dragging herself back to reality.

"Not really I just wanted to check on you," Misty replied not having any actual reason to seek Delia out.

"Well go out and enjoy the party, you can talk to me anytime," Delia pointed back to the dance floor where things hadn't slowed down despite the night growing later. Misty followed her directions and after a few more dances the music finally stopped and an official stepped into the middle of the room.

"Hello everyone," he greeted everyone, "I hope you've all enjoyed catching up a bit," a few cheers accompanied his words, "Now I think it's about time to start winding down. We can officially start things tomorrow so please get s good night's sleep."

Misty knew the league was very particular and when they said something was over, it was over. Everyone started filing out saying a few goodnights before retreating back to their rooms. Once she finally sat on her bed Misty realized she was more tired that she had originally thought and after a quick change and shower she settled under the covers. Tomorrow they would be discussing the league's plans for the upcoming season and then they would have free time which was generally spent on the beach.

Misty was looking forward to it and Ash only briefly crossed her mind before she was able to banish the thought.

* * *

POV (Ash)

Ash still felt horrible for how he treated Misty and he was more than a little surprised to find that his mother had left to go to the same Gym Leader convention. She'd gone with her old friend that Ash had a bad feeling about. He wanted to apologize, but he couldn't contact Misty and he wasn't entirely sure what to say. He still didn't want to talk about his feelings which he was still trying to come to term with so he wasn't sure how to steer the conversation.

"Ugh, Pikachu why do things have to be so complicated?" He looked at the small Pokemon curled up next to him in bed. All he received was a "pika" and a shrug from his small friend.

* * *

**A/N**

Ok... So there really isn't a good reason I didn't update this for so long. It's basically because I've been busy and the time I have for writing has been used for other stories. So I apologize for that and hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Pokemon on hand-

Same as previous chapter

Same as previous chapter

**Trivia**

-Jessie performed as a coordinator in Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh

-She was only actually successful in Sinnoh making it to the Grand festival top 4 before losing to Dawn

-Her alias was Jessilina in Sinnoh

-In Kalos she began competing in Pokemon Showcases

-Giovanni owns a Nidoqueen which he uses in most of his battles in the video games.

-Giovanni owns a Nidorino owns a which he uses in some of his battles in the video games. He later uses a Nidoking meaning he either owns both or it is implied that the Nidorino evolved.


	16. Chapter 16

**Please enjoy, **

When Misty woke she felt well rested and was fairly excited for the rest of the day, all thoughts of Ash had been banished. She was going to enjoy this if it killed her. Only a few moments after she'd showered and pulled on some nice, but casual clothes there was a knock at the door. She was halfway done brushing her hair, but she stopped to open the door despite not being completely ready for the day. Thankfully it was Delia's calm face she saw when she opened the door.

"Hello dear, did you sleep well?" Delia asked in a kind voice and Misty nodded in return, "Are you ready to face another day after the excitement of last night?" She smiled remembering the fiasco that last night had resulted in.

"Almost, I just need to finish getting ready," Misty indicated her hair and Delia perked up.

"Oh, can I help you get ready?" she seemed excited which surprised Misty, "I only had Ash so I never got to help take care of a daughter. So please humor an old woman," Delia smiled somewhat ruefully at her own jab at her age.

Misty for her own part felt almost choked up, she'd lost her parents long ago and her sisters never really provided the support a mother could. Even if it was something simple like getting made up and preparing for a day with people she respected, it meant a lot. She just nodded mutely and stepped aside for let Delia in.

Delia quickly busied herself moving around and after seating Misty she began brushing her hair. "Now I did actually have an ulterior motive for coming here," Delia admitted, "I'm wondering if Ash did anything to upset you." Misty tensed and Delia continued, "He's a bit of a block-head when it comes to women so when I noticed you didn't bring him I thought he might have done something because I know otherwise he'd love to be surrounded by strong trainers and friends."

Misty sighed, so much for not thinking about Ash, though it might be good to get everything out there, not just the story of why Ash wasn't here. "Alright," Misty said and launched into an abridged version of her story starting quite a bit back to when they first met and how she slowly developed a crush on Ash. Delia for the most part was quiet adding things only occasionally.

When it was finally done Misty actually felt like she had let a weight off her shoulders, she had finally told someone everything. Brock already knew most of what was happening between Ash and herself, but it felt good to talk to Delia. She just hoped she wasn't upset with her because Ash was her son.

"Ash can be so blind," Delia stepped away from Misty, "I knew you two liked each other years ago and If I wanted him to date anyone it'd be you so don't worry about that. I support you two completely, but this isn't going to be easy for either of you. I know my son and despite what it might seem he can be a bit of a coward when it comes to certain things, it seems love is one of them."

Misty knew she was becoming red, but Delia just continued on, "Ash probably got confused by something, I know he would never willing choose not to come to an event like this especially with you and Brock here. I think your anger is justified, but he probably didn't mean to upset you. Do you want to know what I think you should do?" Delia asked finally giving Misty a turn to talk.

"Yes," Misty responded firmly.

"For now just enjoy yourself and don't worry about Ash. I'm sure you two will make up when you next see each other so there's no use in wasting energy being upset over the situation. I'm not saying try to ignore it or bury it because if you're still angry it'll just keep bugging you for the rest of the trip no matter how well you think you're containing it, you'll eventually lash out," as Delia spoke Misty knew she was right, she felt good earlier because she was ignoring it, but it'd come back up, "for now just reconcile yourself with the situation and accept that there's nothing to do about it until you get back so don't bother yourself."

As similar as her advice seemed to ignoring the situation Misty knew there was a distinct difference between acceptance and bottling it up so she decided to do what Delia wanted and chose not to expend any more energy being angry. It was time to have fun and as a smile finally slipped onto her face she knew she was finally ready to completely focus. "Thanks a lot Delia," Misty hugged the older woman and after a quick squeeze pulled herself back.

"Now you're all ready for the day, you look beautiful and you're feeling good. So let's have some fun," Delia stood up looking pretty energetic and it was contagious. Misty followed her out the door, briefly reminding herself she should probably grab breakfast.

After managing to eat, Misty left Delia to attend a meeting held for the gym leaders, elite four, and Pokemon officials. There wasn't much to discuss so it'd be a general review of what was happening and what would be happening in the future. After everyone was seated in the large room an older man stood up and coughed before speaking, "Hello all, I hope everyone enjoyed last evening," a smattering of applause and agreements accompanied the statement after it tapered off he continued, "Now we need to discuss the regulations for this upcoming year."

Misty listened fairly attentively to the speeches given by the various officials and the suggestions made by the elite four. Although only current gym leaders were included any former champions or elite four members were also welcome. The champions sat together watching the affair some more interested than others. She recognized most of them, Lance the dragon master a former champion from the Indigo/Johto league, Steven the steel type former champion of Hoenn was happily chatting to Wallace a water Pokemon master and current Hoenn champion, despite Sinnoh not being involved in the event Cynthia actually showed up, and the older former champions she knew less about. However the current and most recent champion from Kanto wasn't present nor was his direct predecessor, it was rumored the champion was a total recluse and nobody had seen him in years.

Her thoughts were interrupted by voices on the other side of the large doors they entered through. "Yeah I'm pretty sure this is it," a male voice said after a pause he continued as if responding to someone, "Well its not like we had a guide and you weren't any help."

A female voice interrupted, "I don't care how long it took, what I'm more concerned about is why I'm here. I never bothered taking on the league."

"Yeah, but they're pretty weak if you wanted to I'm sure you could beat the elite four, though you couldn't beat either of us," he paused again before asking, "right?" Once again it seemed like he was talking to someone speaking too quietly to be heard.

"Excuse me are you calling me weak?" The female sounded indignant.

"Uh, anyway we should go in," the male now sounding slightly worried. Before anyone could say anything the door was kicked in and three teenagers stood in the doorway: A young man who looked vaguely like Gary Oak was grinning confidently, a red eyed teenager who whose blank face didn't alter in the slightest at the scrutiny of the entire room, and a pretty brunette who had the decency to look vaguely embarrassed.

"Did we interrupt?" The confident one asked though it was clear he didn't really care and it was apparent that he had interrupted.

Karen the newest edition to the Indigo elite four stood up glaring at the group furiously, "Who do you think you are waltzing in here and where do you get off calling the elite four weak?"

"Well," he dragged the word out, "You're looking at a former champion, I beat the elite four and the champion when I was ten years old so I have a pretty good grip on how strong they were."

"What?" She looked disbelievingly at him before glancing at some of her colleagues who were giving him various looks from recognition to anger.

"Yeah, and this," he pointed with his thumb to the dark haired male by his side, "is the current champion, but if I have my way I'll be taking that title back one day."

"What are you doing here Green?" Lance asked a bit of annoyance seeping into his tone.

"Red and I came because we want to do what is our right and take part in this event, we are allowed correct?" He asked deceptively sweet.

"I'm still not," the unidentified girl huffed.

"Yeah, I just dragged Blue along because I needed her help in forcing Red to come with us," he shrugged ignoring the girls anger.

Misty noticed Red hadn't spoken a word he just watched his friends bicker and didn't really acknowledge anyone else. He just allowed himself to be pulled along when Green brought him to where the rest of the champions and elite four were sitting. Blue trailed behind them calling them idiots.

Thankfully the meeting was almost done and despite the interruption the group was mostly quiet Green and Blue chatted while Red stayed almost unnervingly silent just watching everyone with gauging eyes. The champions had essentially checked out and were openly watching Green and Red probably considering facing them. Misty knew every few years the champions gathered to decide which region could call itself the strongest, but they occasionally battled without stakes. It would be incredible to watch two champions face off in person and she was more than a little curious about the new arrivals. If they were truly strong enough to become Pokemon champions at age 10 how strong were they now years later? She guessed they were somewhere between 18 and 21 meaning they had plenty of time to improve.

Most of the people in the room had already mentally checked out so when they declared the meeting was over it took a few moment for people to start reacting. "Finally," Green stood and stretched his arms over his head, "it's over."

"You were only there for the very end, stop complaining brat," Lance bit out clearly he didn't like the younger male, but the grin on Green's face probably wasn't helping.

"Wanna battle then?" Green goaded him and Misty got the impression that everything he did, including acting high and mighty, was just to incite someone to challenge him.

"I won't be goaded into a fight by a child," Lance replied doing a good job at keeping himself under control despite his clear annoyance.

"There's got to be someone around here willing to face me," Green glanced around letting his eyes rest on Karen who was still glaring, "how about you? You were talking big a minute ago."

"Fine. The elite four has changed since a few years ago so don't think it'll be so easy," Karen approached him without faltering, but Green simply smirked and sent his two friends an amused look.

"Pick the field and the amount of Pokemon, though it won't really matter," Green followed her as she stormed past. Both trainers already had a full six and neither felt the need to make any switches so they quickly found themselves standing on a rocky indoor field being watched by everyone attending the event.

"I specialize in dark Pokemon, do you have a specific type you prefer?" Karen asked casually having shaken off her anger in favor of focusing on how to deal with her opponent. Misty got the distinct impression that Green was extremely skilled it was simply a feeling, but she was sure he earned his place as a champion.

"No, I tend to be an all-rounder. Due to the fact that I was basically forced to complete the original version of the Pokedex so Oak could produce newer versions using the data as a base. Thanks to us," Green gestured at his friends, "the Pokedex has data on every Pokemon, but each time one is caught the data is updated and improved so each generation is a bit better than the last."

Misty realized it made sense that someone had completed the Pokedex before Ash started because the device knew facts about the Pokemon on sight, though it revealed more about that particular Pokemon after it was caught.

Karen seemed shocked at his statement, "you caught all the Pokemon in Kanto?"

"Of course and plenty others in the years to follow. Now are we going to battle or what?" Green pulled a Pokeball out and tossed it up and down in his hand.

Karen seemed less confident knowing that her opponent had access to every Pokemon in Kanto and apparently ones from other regions, but she quickly pulled herself together and released her first Pokemon, "Go Weavile."

"Arcanine let's wreck her," Green tossed his Pokeball high in the air and a large Arcanine landed on the field staring down the Weavile, "it looks like you have a type disadvantage."

"We'll beat you with speed, good luck trying to land a hit," Karen finally sounded confident and back to herself now that the battle began.

"I don't need luck, I have extreme speed," the moment Green mentioned the attack his Pokemon launched forward surprising Karen and her Weavile who barely got out of the way, but it couldn't dodge the close range flamethrower that followed. The rest of the match didn't go any better for Karen, her Pokemon were taken down one by one.

Misty couldn't help, but cringe as Karen lost her Honchcrow to his Aerodactyl and ending the match without any of Green's Pokemon being knocked out. "You're incredible," she half whispered as Green returned his Pokemon stepping away from the field back to his friends who didn't seem impressed. Blue lectured him about his attitude and Red didn't seem fazed by his beat down of an Elite Four member. They were a scary bunch for sure, but she felt a nagging sensation that she'd seen the two boys before.

* * *

Despite her interest in the three three newest additions to the group, Misty wasn't able to get a chance to talk to them. Apparently they actually did have some friends among the Kanto leaders despite their attitudes. What was coming next was what she'd been looking forward to the entire trip, the first trading session. Although the trainers attending could trade at any time the league set some time apart just so leaders could trade and possibly improve their team, as many couldn't go out to catch Pokemon often. Misty was lucky she had back up in the form of her sisters, but many gym leaders had only themselves.

She was most interested in approaching Juan or Wallace, but she wasn't too familiar on a personal basis with either of them and it was slightly intimidating. Still she wasn't the type of person to be frightened off so easily and made her way towards them. Surprisingly she was intercepted by Lance, who waved her over. Being a dragon type master, Misty wasn't entirely sure what he wanted, but she walked to him hiding any confusion.

"Hello Misty," Lance greeted her warmly, "I'm sure you're wondering what I have to discuss with you during a trading session."

"Yeah, I'm a bit confused," Misty didn't bother lying, it didn't seem like he was planning on judging her.

"Well I actually have two gifts for you," Lance smiled taking two things off his belt. One was a pokeball and another was what looked like a scale, "Quite some time ago your parents left me a Seadra which has fathered quite a few Dratini with one of my Dragonairs, I feel its only fair that you are allowed to adopt one. It's quite young and dragon types can be hard to take care of, but I trust you have the skill and the facilities in your gym to take care of it. The scale is from when one of the Dratini evolved, it's a dragonscale and you can use it to evolve a Seadra if you have one."

"Thank you so much and I actually do have a Seadra," Misty was shocked, but retained enough sense to reply.

"If you'd like we could trade Pokemon while your Seadra holds the scale allowing it to evolve and we can trade back afterwards," Lance offered gesturing to one of the balls on his belt. Within a few minutes Misty had evolved Seadra, who seemed more than happy in its evolved state, though she had to return it to its ball.

Lance walked off after a few more pleasantries allowing Misty to get back to her initial mission, to speak to other water specialists or masters. Apparently she had been noticed before Lance had walked away because by the time she turned, Wallace was only a few steps away with his eyes resting on her.

"Hello my dear, I heard you've been making waves so it speak," Wallance began speaking a few hand gestures accompanying his words.

"Hello Wallace," she tried to sound casual in her response, but she was mildly confused, "what waves am I making?"

"I recently heard through the grapevine that you were quite insistent on entering the Indigo league," Wallace answered a peculiar smile on his face.

"I wouldn't say insistent, but I was interested," Misty didn't think she'd made such an impression that Wallace would somehow find out.

Apparently Wallace read the look on her face and waved off her concerns, "Don't worry, you're not exactly a major topic of discussion, I just happen to have my ears to the ground." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Now let's get to what I actually wanted to talk about, I believe its a topic we're both invested in, water pokemon."

* * *

**A/N**

I actually wrote this chapter a while ago, but never got around to finishing or publishing it. I actually thought I already did and when I started writing the next chapter I found this and realized it was never put up.

Why did I bring Red, Blue, and Green in? Because I can and because I find them fascinating, they won't play too huge of a role, but I enjoy the idea of them being in the same universe.

Also I feel the end was abrupt, but I wasn't sure where I was going to end it if I didn't cut it off before the rest of Wallace's conversation, that I'm still working out.

I had a guest reviewer Nick who asked me quite a few questions in a comment on the first chapter. I don't know if you've continued to read, but I think the story itself has probably answered most of your questions and I don't want to dedicate multiple paragraphs answering everything you've asked. If I could respond to you directly I'd be fine with it, but I can't within my story. This paragraph was too large in it of itself. I'm addressing this because you recently tried to post the same review which this time I chose to delete to avoid a repeat. (I generally don't block any guest reviews)

Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think.


End file.
